The Untold Story of James and Lily
by hothoney111
Summary: Lily hates James.  James likes Lily.  What made things change between them?  Who else was a part of their story?  What happened during those three times of defying Lord Voldemort?  Who else was involved in their end?  Written Post-DH, treat as Post-HBP
1. Chapter 1

1Chapter 1 - Head Boy and Girl

Lily Evans apparated to platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross station promptly twenty minutes before the train was due to leave. It felt good to be going back to Hogwarts. Not only was it her last year, but she had been made Head Girl. The year was going to be perfect. The Marauders couldn't bother her now as she would take points away and could give them detention. The Slytherins would have to give her some respect so there would be no more constant, condescending comments. The other seventh year Gryffindor girls wouldn't give her such a hard time either, seeing as she now would be living in the Heads' Dorm with the Head Boy instead of in their dormitory. They always were on her back because they were jealous that James Potter only had eyes for her. The other girls could have him for all she cared, if he ever decided to glance their way.

Potter. Like he even mattered to her. If anything, he had been a thorn in her side since third year— wait, make that first year. Third year was just when he started asking her out. He had annoyed her before that too. Just thinking about him at this moment annoyed her. Even she had to concede he was popular, good-looking, and amazing at quidditch, but seriously, he wasn't worth it. His personality was enough to make any sensible woman run away screaming. He was arrogant, childish, rude, condescending, pompous, over-confident, cocky... Ok, she could add to this list all night.

She shook her head and made her way across the platform, down towards the front car where the Heads' room and the prefects' lounge were located. On the way, she passed the Marauders, minus Black oddly enough, and the three were all laughing merrily with one another, probably planning their next un-funny prank on some poor student. Hopefully, it wasn't the first years. She also sort of felt bad for Severus, even though he had never been kind to her. He just always got pranked by the Marauders. Last year, she believed the count had been twenty-seven times. She ducked her head, hid behind some people as she passed, and was successful in avoiding being seen by the one and only James Potter. All he would do is call out to her and embarrass her publicly by asking her out in his arrogant way. She rolled her eyes. Like she would ever say yes if someone asked her out in such a fashion. Maybe if his head lost about ten sizes, maybe if he asked her politely, maybe if he didn't only try and date her for a joke or a bet with Black, maybe if he didn't want to date her so he could brag about getting some with his mates, maybe... You know what, it didn't matter. She would never say yes.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when a pretty blonde, blue-eyed girl stopped in front of her. "Hey, hot stuff."

Lily smirked. It was her only real friend left at Hogwarts, Christina Matthews. Her only other friend had graduated two years previously, Michelle (Shelley) Rosedale. Shelley was now one year away from being a licensed Healer. It sucks when all of the other girls in your class, more to the point, the whole house, are jealous of you and angry with you just because some hot guy likes you and you refuse to date him because he's an imbecile. Her friend count had immediately diminished. Christina didn't care for Potter or the Marauders much either, although not as vehemently as Lily. She had had a fling with Black once and, of course, was exchanged for another girl a month later during fifth year. "Hey Christina. What car are you going to be in?"

She waved her hand carelessly to the second or third car. "Not too far away, you should stop in and say hey if you get time. The others, minus Alice of course who is currently dating Frank, are avoiding me still because I willingly converse with you so I should be quite cozy by myself."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I can't believe the others are avoiding you now too. They need to grow up."

"I know, but whatever. They still have to live with me and will get over it eventually. Anyway, I just wanted to catch up with you and say congrats for the Head Girl thing. It is so nice to finally see a muggleborn get that again, not that it matters truly. It's just been a while is all. I bet you Bellatrix will be smitten with jealousy."

Lily groaned. "Don't say that. She is probably going to be a bitch all year long."

Christina rolled her eyes. "Isn't she always? Well, hopefully whoever is Head Boy will keep her in line. I bet it's Remus."

Lily shrugged, not too concerned. "Maybe, but I doubt that Professor Dumbledore would appoint a Marauder to be Head Boy. I mean, honestly, what would get done? I was thinking it would be Ben Hatcher from Ravenclaw. Nice bloke."

"Ehhh, maybe. Professor Dumbledore is rather unpredictable though. You might as well go and see. The prefect meeting starts when the train leaves, which is in five minutes."

"Yeah. I'll see you later."

Christina rushed off to get on the train, and Lily walked ahead to get on the first car. When she made it to the Heads' room, she about died from shock. Well, that was an understatement. She immediately got extremely angry and opened the door with a loud slam. The boy inside jumped about a mile, as he had been sitting there quietly reading a quidditch magazine seemingly waiting for her. However, when he glanced up at her, he gave her a huge smile and his hazel eyes began to sparkle. "Evans, we finally meet. Would you like to go to the first Hogsmeade weekend with me too?"

Lily rolled her eyes and counted to ten so she wouldn't castrate him. She ignored his request for a date…barely. "Potter, you are not supposed to be in the Heads' room. Go find your friends. If you are waiting for Remus, we have duties to attend to and he'll see you soon enough."

If anything, Potter's smile grew wider, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge. "No, Evans. I believe I'm in the right place. Remus is waiting in the prefects' lounge."

Lily recoiled backwards absolutely horrified by the idea of Potter being Head Boy. She was going to have to live with him for NINE MONTHS. This was a bad joke and someone was going to jump out and say 'Gotcha!' any minute. "There is no way Dumbledore would be sane enough to make you Head Boy."

James sighed and reached out the badge so she could read it. She noticed, much to her dismay, it clearly stated 'James Potter, Head Boy.' "You know, I asked him that question myself personally. But his words were, and I quote, 'James, I picked you because you were best suited for the job. Please do not make me regret my decision.' End quote."

Lily just shook her head and something inside of her seemed to snap. "Potter, this cannot be happening! _You_ weren't supposed to be Head Boy! This is not fair! Besides, when would Dumbledore speak personally to you anyway, in the middle of you and the Marauders causing mayhem? I, I, I—"

James cut off her rant by grabbing her shoulders and focusing her attention on him. He was hurt she didn't seem to believe anything he was saying. He had never thought she considered him a liar until now. "Listen, Lily, I'm really not that bad, and I wouldn't lie to you. Let's go to the prefects' lounge. You can yell at me all you want when we get back, ok?"

Lily just looked at him like he had gone crazy and hissed quietly, "Get your hands off of me, Potter."

James let her go gently and for once, actually looked apologetic. "Sorry."

Lily just rolled her eyes and walked out towards the prefects' lounge. She knew that James was following her. This was going to be a long year.

When she opened the door and walked in, all of the talking ceased. She wasn't sure if it was because she looked pissed off or because Potter had walked in behind her. Only Remus was smiling— actually, he was almost laughing at the two of them. Good on him. Bellatrix and Severus were sneering at her, although Bellatrix seemed to be looking at James with interest. Wait, did she really just see that? She shook her head and sat down up front. James sat off to her side a bit. "Great, is everyone here?"

Everyone looked around and seemed to nod. Lily nodded and let out a breath. "Obviously, Potter and I are Head Boy and Girl this year." Anyone looking at her could tell she was not thrilled with this assignment. "This meeting is just to get you all to introduce yourselves to one another, for the older students to help the new fifth year prefects, and the like. All of you are to periodically patrol the corridors of the train and let either Potter or myself know of any escalated problem. Prefects can use the prefects' lounge and prefects' bathrooms on the fifth floor at Hogwarts. The password for these areas is 'cauldron cakes.' Potter and I will develop a sign-up sheet for you all in the prefects' lounge so you can sign up to do patrol of the hallways two nights a week. That's about it unless there is something you would like to add, Potter."

Everyone in the room seemed to notice the biting tone she had used when addressing James, but he just nodded absently as though he couldn't tell. "Dumbledore asked me to inform all of you that he would like for us all to practice some inter-house unity. He understands that everyone is sorted into houses, becomes friends with those in their houses, and plays or supports the quidditch teams of their houses, but he would like us all to make an effort to encourage studying with students from other houses or ultimately meeting up with students from other houses. This is something you all can do when signing up to do patrol."

Lily looked rather taken aback by the calm way Potter handled himself and was also a bit hurt that Dumbledore hadn't mentioned any of that to her. She had no time to comment because Severus beat her to it, looking at James with utter dislike and disdain. "Potter, what if we think it best to partner up with those from our own house? Why should we HAVE to pair up with someone we don't know or may not even like?"

Potter frowned and looked like he was trying extremely hard to keep his temper in check. "Because Dumbledore is telling you to do it and to give it a chance. I'm not saying that this will work out perfectly."

Bellatrix jumped in before Severus could start an argument, "Awww, James, we'd be happy to give it a try for _you_, wouldn't we, Severus?"

Severus looked ready to spit fire with his eyes, but remained silent. Lily blinked. Did Bellatrix actually flirt with Potter? What in the world was going on? She watched him roll his eyes at her blatant attention like he had seen it millions of times before. His voice was sharper than normal as he forced himself to speak calmly, "Bella, this is not about _me_ at all. It is Dumbledore's request of the Heads and the prefects to set an example for the other students."

Lily interrupted before this odd conversation would go any further, "Ok, well, we'll schedule a prefects' meeting at some point to discuss this further. The sign-up sheet will be up later tonight so you all can begin to sign up and begin patrol starting tomorrow. Please go and patrol the train, and we'll see you all later."

Everyone had got up to go. Lily turned to see Potter scowling and Remus laughing at him. She cautiously approached them both and caught the end of what Remus was saying, "…can't believe she would do that in front of everyone. I thought she was over you, Jamesie."

James didn't see Lily's approach and was immediately defensive, "There never was any Bella and I, Remus. It was just the Black family acting all superior and— " Remus cut him off and nodded to Lily.

James turned and noticed her looking at him oddly. He turned back to Remus with a 'help me' expression. "Umm, I gotta talk with Evans for a bit. Come by if you get the chance, ok?"

Remus just grinned at the two of them and nodded as he left. James got up and gestured for her to go on ahead of him. When they reached the Heads' room, James plopped down on the left side and grabbed a book out of his things. Lily was just mad that he was still here in the Heads' room at all. She pulled out two small pieces from her pocket and cast two enlargement charms. She levitated her trunk away and opened up her satchel to grab a quill and some parchment. If she was stuck with Potter for a year, she was going to make him work. She was not doing this alone and he appeared capable, no matter how much she hated admitting it. "So, Potter, we should organize the stuff for Hogsmeade weekends, etc. and make that sign-up sheet."

Potter nodded grudgingly, but still argued, "We only need to make the sign-up sheet right now. Dumbledore wants to meet with us this Wednesday afternoon to discuss Hogsmeade weekends and whatever else we want to do this year. We can plan all that in the next couple of days before the meeting."

Lily rolled her eyes impatiently and was also hurt again at seemingly being left out. Being hurt made her more angry than she really was. "How would you know what Dumbledore wants anyway? Since when do you even see him when you aren't causing trouble?"

Potter leaned back, not sure what to say. He couldn't tell her the real reason, but he had to say something. The real reason was a closely regarded secret that he dare not even think about so as to not allow a Leglimens to remove it from his mind. "Umm, Dumbledore is really good friends with my family, Evans. I saw him a lot this summer at my house. I wouldn't lie about talking with Dumbledore or his requests."

Lily leaned back herself. "Sorry. I forgot about who your family was for a second, Potter."

Potter looked surprised to see her apologize, but he immediately got defensive at her tone when it seemed as if she was basically calling him a pure-blood. "Don't worry about it. You know, just because I'm a pure-blood and all doesn't mean I'm anything like the Slytherins. My family doesn't uphold the pure-blood ideals and are considered blood traitors by most. My family has been in Gryffindor for generations. You shouldn't be so quick to judge."

Lily looked almost taken aback by his tone. If anything, James had only been arrogant with her or had showered her with compliments— he had never been short with her. "I didn't mean it like that."

James nodded as if to let it go. "So, this sign-up sheet thing is easy." He waved his wand and the blank parchment in front of her was immediately made out for the prefects to sign up for specific days of the week, four prefects to each day. He thought for a moment and then waved his wand again. The parchment now also mentioned that the Heads would be doing the late rounds each night from 10-11pm to make sure all were properly in their dormitories, including the prefects. "There, that should satisfy things."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Potter, I am _not_ doing rounds with you every night."

James rolled his eyes at how stubborn she was being. He had only asked her out once, and he didn't think he was being arrogant, but he knew she would find a way for her to make it seem like he was. "Then, you and I can switch off every other night and do it solo if you can't stand to be around me for a mere hour. That's the best way to do it, and you know it. The Heads always do the late rounds anyway."

Lily glared at him. "Back to being arrogant, I see. Why can't you just admit that everything you do or suggest is not always 'the best?'"

She was so stubborn. But then again, so was he. It took one to know one, he supposed. James sighed before just going along with her ridiculous argument, "Then, what changes would you like to make, Lily?"

Lily was staring at him angrily, slowly realizing he was sort of right and because he had used her first name. She just nodded sharply at him, still frowning. She grudgingly admitted, "It can stay that way for now, I guess."

James just smirked and opened his book. It was an extremely ancient book on Transfiguration, and he had been dying to read it. It was on special loan from Dumbledore.

Lily tried to ignore him still sitting there in the Heads' room, but his presence finally began to annoy her after a few minutes of her own reading and writing. "Don't you have friends to bother, Potter?"

James sighed again. It had only been about ten minutes before she had started in on him again. He had been leaving her alone. "Evans, Remus is doing prefect work, Peter usually sleeps until one of us wakes him up, and if you haven't noticed, let me inform you that Sirius is not aboard the train and will be arriving separately. I may be considered a popular bloke, but there are no other people I would rather sit with, other than you."

Lily scowled. "Where is Sirius?"

James frowned at her question. "I'm afraid that's a rather personal question for him, and I am going to decline to answer your question."

Lily noticed James' features had darkened. She knew Sirius was a Black, but she knew little else. Being a Black in itself and landing in Gryffindor would probably have caused problems in itself. "Uhh, right then."

They sat in silence the rest of the way. Eventually, James left to let her get changed into robes and to get changed himself. It was rather odd comparing what she had always known to be James Potter to the James Potter in front of her. She had always seen him with the Marauders causing trouble and chaos or asking her out in the most ridiculous and embarrassing ways. To see him actually sit still and read a book about Transfiguration, not on the book list mind you, and actually look interested, was a thing unto itself. Not to mention that he had seemingly handled being Head Boy rather easily and stuck up for his friend without being arrogant at all. It was all rather alarming to her. Had she missed something?

When the train had stopped, she and Potter escorted all of the returning students to the carriages and helped Hagrid with the first years, before jumping into the last carriage together. She sighed. James still hadn't said anything to her, and she wondered why it bothered her so much. Probably because she had to communicate with the Head Boy all year to make sure things got done properly perhaps? She was going to force herself to be nice. "Umm, Potter?"

James looked surprised to see her speaking to him. "Yes?"

"Where exactly is the Heads' dormitory?"

James gave her a small smile. "I'll show you where after the feast. It's up on the sixth floor near the walls of armor. There's a not-so-secret passageway and a sphinx gargoyle which moves in response to the password."

Lily looked concerned. "Not-so-secret?"

James just chuckled. "The Marauders know a lot of things about the castle, Evans."

When the carriages arrived, she and Potter again helped to organize everyone inside. When they walked into the Great Hall, she immediately noticed that Sirius was talking rather solemnly with Professor Dumbledore near the Professors' table. James immediately left her and went up to talk with them both. Lily rolled her eyes and sat down in a huff. Christina eventually plopped down across from her. She had a mischievous look in her eyes. "So you and Potter? NO WAY. People were talking about it all over the train."

Lily rolled her eyes. Great, she was gossip already. "Just what I need. Yes, it's me and Potter, unfortunately. Although I have to admit, and I won't say this to anyone else, he might just do an ok job."

Christina's eyes widened in disbelief. "No! Who are you, and what have you done with Lily Evans?"

Lily just laughed. "I'm serious. I don't like it obviously, but he does have a way with being in authority and appears to be mates with Dumbledore."

After seeing Lily nod to her right, Christina looked up towards the Professors' table where Dumbledore, Sirius, and Potter were still talking as everyone continued to pour into the Great Hall. "Ick. That kind of sucks. It might work in your favor though, for stuff you want to do and all."

Lily nodded. After the sorting and the feast began, she noticed she had been watching Potter without meaning to. He seemed more relaxed now that Sirius had arrived. Curiosity pulled at her to know the reason Sirius had been late, but knew that it didn't involve her and she should leave it alone. When the feast had ended, he got up, said his goodbyes, and headed over towards her. She noticed him stop briefly to whisper in a girl's ear and pat her on the back gently. She watched the girl nod and wave him off. Lily was confused. She had never seen Potter do that before. Well, she technically had never watched him before. Who was the petite, dirty blonde-haired girl anyway? She was in Gryffindor, and for the life of her, Lily could not remember her name, but she did know that she wasn't on the quidditch team. Her brow furrowed. Wait, why did this even matter?

"Hey, Evans, I told the prefects the passwords. For Gryffindor, it's 'courage and bravery,' just so you know. Lame, I know. I told Dumbledore that too. He just laughed though. I'm sure we can change it eventually. Ours is whatever we tell it to be when we get there."

Lily just nodded and walked along with him. She saw a few girls from Hufflepuff straggling to get a glimpse of him and were looking disdainfully at Lily. He didn't even seem to notice. When they got out of sight and ear-shot, James continued, "So, what do you want the password to be, Evans?"

Lily looked surprised he would ask for her opinion. She figured he would make it some quidditch term or something. Now, she was suspicious. "I don't know. Why are you letting me pick anyway?"

James rolled his eyes at the fact that she always had to argue with him. "I don't know. I just figured you would want to pick is all."

Lily glared at him. Now, he thought she was some 'miss superior' type and would probably just order him around? Why couldn't he just be nice? "Whatever."

"Fine. How about 'Lily Evans hates James Potter?'"

Lily rolled her eyes. Although she was a little taken aback by James having a rather biting tone with her for the second time today, his comment just incensed her. "Anyone could guess that, Potter."

James sighed in exasperation. "How about 'McGonagall is secretly a kitty?'"

Lily fought the urge to smirk at how funny that sounded and give him that satisfaction. "Fine."

She and Potter continued to walk in silence. Suddenly, James held up his hand and stopped them next to a blank wall just after the row of armor. "Watch," he ordered.

Lily watched as he tapped his wand in three specific places. Nothing appeared to have happened, but then James walked right through the wall. Lily tentatively put her hand out and upon seeing it dematerialize, followed him through. James had already walked down the short hallway and had stopped at the sphinx. "The password is going to be 'McGonagall is secretly a kitty.' Also, do not let Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, or Peter Pettigrew come through, even with the password."

The sphinx immediately sprung open. They both entered and were not surprised to see the Heads' common room in Gryffindor colors. There was a couch, two plush armchairs, and a coffee table in front of a fireplace, which already had a fire blazing. Then, there was also a table with two chairs off to the far right, probably for studying. In the back of the room, there were stairs leading to two doors. The one on the left had her name written on it while the one on the right had James' name on it. "Why don't you want your friends to be able to enter?"

James frowned. "Trust me, that is for your protection as well as mine. I don't like being woken up at 4am with buckets of ice water or being tarred and feathered just before breakfast. I doubt they would do that to you, but I'm sure you would like your privacy and I must say that Sirius, while my brother and best friend, is a bit of a snoop. If he does that to my stuff and La—, well, other people's stuff, he might just do it to yours."

Lily frowned when he paused mid-sentence. "Oh, yes. Then, I suppose that's a good thing." She eyed him warily. "That means you too, you know."

James rolled his eyes at her even suggesting he would do such a thing. "I would never invade your privacy, Evans."

"Whatever. Just leave me alone, and we'll get along fine. Is that clear?"

James held up his hands in defeat, but then he smiled. "Crystal. Does this mean you won't go out with me, Evans?"

Lily scowled loudly, and her eyes flared. "Arrrrggghhhh! I _hate_ you, Potter!"

James watched her practically fly to her room and slam the door. He sighed. Maybe he'd have

better luck another time. When he opened his own door to his dorm, he was surprised to see the

room was identical to his bedroom at home. He smiled and plopped himself onto his full bed. It was going to be an interesting year.


	2. Chapter 2

1Chapter 2 - Tumultuous Times

Lily had been surveying James Potter for the first two weeks of classes, much to her own dismay. She had noticed that he still acted cocky and childish with the Marauders, still seemed to be a part of their pranks, and still managed to ask her out about ten times in the crowded halls. And yet, there was another side of Potter she was seeing now that the two of them lived in such close proximity. He didn't really need to study as hard as she did, always managed to finish his homework, read extra books on Transfiguration among other things, was extremely loyal and helpful to his friends as well as other students (particularly the first years she had seen him helping out), actually showed up on time for Heads' patrol every night, and was already beginning quidditch try-outs and setting up their practices. She could admit it— she was jealous of how he managed his time. Not only that, but she was incensed that he wasn't the asshole she always had made him out to be. Had she seriously been that short-sighted because he had always been following her around, asking her out non-stop, and thinking he was 'oh so hilarious' with all of his pranks? Did she really only focus on his faults and never see what he was really like? It was a bit annoying to consider all of this.

The Gryffindor girls, minus Alice, who had a boyfriend, and Christina, her best mate, all thought she was positively evil for not seeing how wonderful James Potter was. It was worse now that she had actually seen him be the nice guy they had always said he was. Before, she had never really noticed so she had never understood why they were so upset with her. Regardless of her now noticing a different side to James Potter, she still thought he was extremely annoying. That was most likely the reason that whenever they were around each other, it always ended in an argument.

During patrol, they would talk superficially for a while, and somewhere along the walk, he would say something and she would become upset. He never gave out any harsh punishments and especially avoided giving detentions unless they were necessary. This annoyed Lily because he shouldn't be so damn lenient. Once, they had passed a locked broom closet that had been making some, well, obvious noises and instead of unlocking it and giving whoever was in there detentions, he merely banged on the door, told Sirius to use a silencing charm next time and if he was not gone in another five minutes, he would let Lily give him and his new sweetie detentions. Needless to say, five minutes later, the broom closet had been empty. And yet, Lily could never say anything bad about him because all the other students thought he was doing a great job. That thought made her scowl.

Currently, the two of them were heading to a second Heads' meeting with Professor Dumbledore. James had taken them on a secret route from the Heads' Dorm to his office. He had said it was faster, but she really didn't like being in a secret hallway with James Potter. "Are we almost there? You said this would be faster."

James rolled his eyes at her impatience. "It's right up there."

Lily looked where he was now walking and was surprised to find that he was right. They had just come out from behind a tapestry. The walk had been cut down by about five minutes. "Oh."

They were in front of the gargoyles blocking the entrance of Dumbledore's office in seconds. James immediately said, "Cockroach cluster."

Nothing happened, and Lily was surprised. "He changed it? Why? I suppose we could just wait out here."

James shook his head. "Nah. He probably wanted me to have a challenge. Bertie Bott's? No wait, he doesn't like them. Acid pops? Licorice? Madam Rosmerta's Oak Mead? Butterbeer? Hershey's Kiss?"

Again, nothing happened. Lily just smirked. "Any more bright ideas, Potter?"

James ignored her and was just thinking to himself. Suddenly, his face brightened. "It's got to be his favorite. Lemon Drops."

Lily was surprised to see the gargoyles begin to move. James just laughed at her expression. "Come on, Evans. We don't want to be late."

Lily just huffed and started up the stairs ahead of him. She knocked gently on the Headmaster's door and only opened it when she heard Professor Dumbledore tell them to come in. "Hello, Professor."

Dumbledore just smiled at the two of them. "Come in, come in. We have much to discuss."

James and Lily took the seats he gestured to. Before Dumbledore could continue, James asked, "Where's Fawkes, Sir?"

Lily looked at James curiously. "Fawkes?"

Dumbledore gestured to the empty perch next to his desk. "Fawkes is my phoenix familiar, Lily. He is currently out doing a bit of business for myself."

James nodded at his words. Lily just looked surprised because she hadn't known Dumbledore had a pet phoenix, but resisted asking any further questions. Dumbledore began, "Well, I received your final list the other day for all the Hogsmeade weekends for the year. There was only a problem with the one date in March. It coincided too closely with our Spring Break. The rest can all go forward. That means the first one will be in two weeks. You will need to help the Heads of Houses collect permission forms from the third years." He watched both James and Lily nod at his words before continuing, "Also, you both didn't really specify about other activities you would like to plan this year. The Heads are in charge of graduation with the prefects, of course, but other than that..."

When Dumbledore trailed off, James interjected, "We had discussed having a Valentine's Day dance, Professor."

Lily nodded, but inwardly scowled at the memory. James had thought they should have a dance of some kind because all of the students expected it, but Lily didn't really care either way. It had ended in a rather long-winded argument over nothing. Dumbledore broke her out of her thoughts, "Well, you two can begin planning that before or just after the holidays. You both will compile the lists for those that wish to stay at the school for the holidays as well, but we needn't worry about that quite yet. I may also require your services for the Halloween feast, but I will let you know more about that in the coming weeks. Other than that, keep on top of the prefects and let me know if there are any troubles."

Dumbledore eyed the two of them and noticed their detached silence from each other. He frowned at their distance. "Anything else you two would like to add?"

They both shook their heads. "Good, James, I do have one question for you. Something I heard about just today."

James looked at him curiously and upon seeing a certain twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes, he gulped and sank a bit in his chair. Because of particular circumstances, he could not lie to Dumbledore ever. He answered him warily, "Yes, Sir?"

"Were you the expert behind the prank of dyeing young Mr. Snape's hair a sparkling shade of scarlet and gold, along with writing the words 'Gryffindor Forever' across his forehead?"

James paled a bit while Lily smirked at the look on his face. She expected him to lie, but was surprised when he answered honestly, although it looked somewhat forced, "Yes, Sir."

Dumbledore just smiled. "I thought so. A nice bit of magic, yes, but I think you can use your talents in more appropriate ways, hmm? It took Madam Pomfrey more than a few hours to rectify the change."

James just nodded. Dumbledore continued, "Ok, off you go, the both of you."

Lily was appalled that James hadn't gotten into any trouble. When they were both out of ear-shot, she heard James let out a long breath like he had just been called out by his parents. She rolled her eyes. "What makes you so special that you seem to get away with everything?"

James just looked at her thoughtfully as they walked into the secret tunnel toward the Heads' Dorm. He figured he could be somewhat honest, not like she would believe him anyway. "For reasons I will not go into, I am unable to lie to Dumbledore. By knowing I am unable to lie to him, he usually is more lenient. Plus, unlike you, he thinks most of our pranks are funny. I'm afraid that is all I can tell you."

Lily just rolled her eyes. "Righhhht. Who would actually believe that line of bull?"

James just remained silent and waited for her usual tirade that was coming. "I can't stand you, Potter! You and your self-righteous attitude! How Dumbledore and you are so chummy is beyond me. How come you and the Marauders get away with everything? That is completely unfair and you know it! When will you grow up!"

When James remained silent again, Lily just scowled and waved her hands in frustration. Looking extremely fed up, she tore off in a huff, not even going into the Heads' Dorm. James sighed. He didn't know how long he could continue holding his tongue and keeping his patience with her. He had no idea why she hated him so much. If anything, he had been walking on eggshells around her since they had arrived. He practically let her say whatever she wanted to him, not caring if what she said was false or hurtful. It was beginning to bother him, although what bothered him more was that he still liked her. Immensely. She was absolutely beautiful— there was no question about that. She also was incredibly kind to most people; he personally saw her go out of her way to help anyone many a time. She was brilliant, strong-willed, hard-working, and ambitious. She didn't let anything anyone ever said about her bother her; well, except for anything he said which usually bothered her. And yet, now that she had been so cold and biting towards him for the last two weeks, he, for the first time, wished he didn't like her so much. It would make things so much easier.

It had been another grueling two weeks. Homework was being piled on, and most students, fifth year and above were having trouble keeping up. James was one of the few who were somehow not finding the pressure to be exhausting. He had finally managed to get together a decent quidditch team in the little spare time he had. Today had been their second official practice together, and of course, something had to happen. He played chaser and had two veterans in the other two chaser positions, sixth year, Celia Hoyt, and sixth year, Jake Murray. His beaters were Sirius, who had been on the team with him since third year and a new recruit, fifth year, Mike Douglas. His seeker was another returner and the youngest, fourth year, Hailey Baker. His keeper was another new recruit, sixth year, Dan Owens.

The team worked well together so far. Hailey was so petite and a damn good flyer so you could barely see her when she was in the air. She had been an amazing find last year. Sirius, who was chaos unto himself in the beater position, had been working with Mike a bit extra and at the practice today, they seemed to be working on the same wavelength which was good. He, Jake, and Celia had been doing nothing but drills and developing odd plays to get the quaffle past their keeper. They all had been playing together for the last two years and were practically mind readers as to how each of them would play. Dan was good too, especially in anticipating a lot of their own chaser moves so James was hoping he would do just as well against the other teams.

Today, they had been forced to share half the field with the Slytherin team. He scowled at the memory. Of course, the practice was supervised so as to not let anything get out of hand, seeing as the first match of the season was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin and would take place in about a month and a half. This didn't stop the Slytherin team, however. Malfoy, being the stupid git that he was, shot a bludger directly at Jake, rendering him unconscious and in the hospital wing. Malfoy, of course, had said it was an unfortunate accident and he, as Captain, was merely showing his new beater the proper way to direct a bludger. Bullshit. Now, James had to cancel practice for the next few days. This put him in a foul mood.

As James finally approached the Heads' Dorm, he scowled again. Lily had also been driving him crazy. She was hot one minute and cold the next. Every other minute, literally sometimes, she would seem to be nice and then suddenly, she would freak out on him for some minute detail. He wasn't sure if she was simply mad at him or was having trouble coping with the stress. Besides occasionally asking her to the first Hogsmeade weekend (which was that coming weekend) which she had been outright refusing, he had no idea why she would be mad at him. He did practically anything she asked.

When he opened the door, he saw her sitting on the couch doing what appeared to be homework. She had books open, parchment everywhere, and her quill neatly in her hand. When she glanced up, her face soured. "Back so soon, Potter?"

James rolled his eyes. "I live here too, Evans."

"I'm well aware of that. I was just hoping for three hours of peace. You are back after an hour."

"So what if I'm back early? It's not my fault, you know. Jake's in the hospital wing. Besides, I can choose to end practice early whenever I want if we were all doing well anyway."

Lily narrowed her eyes at him menacingly. This was one of the first times he had actually defended his actions. Or he just wanted to fight. Fine. She could play his game too. "Get over yourself, Potter. You really think you are Merlin's gift to this world, don't you? Why don't you find one of the other Gryffindor girls who agree with you?"

James knew he shouldn't be doing this with her. He was tired, angry already, and she was pushing at his buttons. "Newsflash, Evans! I like YOU! Not one of those peons, not that you even care!"

Lily scowled. She was getting sick of him telling her he liked her. He hadn't shown her any specific evidence that this was true so it must be a joke or a bet with the Marauders. "Whatever, Potter. Why don't you leave me alone for once? All you seem to do is make my life a living hell."

When James turned back toward her, she imperceptibly leaned back from the fire in his eyes. She had never seen him look that angry before, especially at her, and it was more than a little unnerving. "FINE, Evans! I have been extremely nice to you for this whole month! I have done every god damned thing you have ever asked of me! I have let you rant all you want about how I'm the lowest of the low, and frankly, I'm SICK of it! I refuse to take any more of your crap! God only knows why I thought I liked you! You're impossible to please! IMPOSSIBLE! When will you ever get it through your head that I'm not an asshole? In fact, I'm one of the few nice guys in this institution! But you will never know that, will you? How about you leave ME alone, you damn princess!"

Lily was shaking a bit and looked in near tears by the end of his tirade. James let out a long breath, growling in obvious frustration. He was pissed, but he was more pissed at himself for losing it in front of her and almost making her cry. That was never what he wanted to do. It actually made him feel awful. He knew he should apologize, but he just couldn't do it at the moment. Instead, he stalked over to his room and watched as without his wand, it opened quickly and slammed behind him.

Lily remained sitting on the couch, absolutely stunned and horrified. The tears that had threatened to slip out eventually did. She shakily collected all of her things and ran into her room. Everything she was holding dropped to the floor as she made her way to her full bed. As she laid down on it crying softly, she tried to think James an asshole for everything he had just said and done, but for some reason, she couldn't. He was right. He was completely right about everything. That just made her feel worse.

As Lily made her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning, she still felt awful. James had already left by the time she had gotten up that morning so she hadn't had a chance to apologize, not that she was sure she would have been able to say anything to him face-to-face. She had done her best to look unaffected and calm, but inside, she wanted to hide in her room all day and cry. When she made her way inside, she noticed a few Gryffindors stare at her curiously before she sat down next to Christina. Christina looked up at her with concern. "What's going on?"

Lily merely shrugged and forced herself to appear nonchalant. "Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine."

Christina slowly shook her head. "No, it's not. James came into the Gryffindor common room early this morning and was looking mighty pissed off about something. Even Sirius couldn't coax it of him. Now, he is just sitting with the Marauders in stony silence. I'm not the only Gryffindor who has noticed. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole school doesn't notice James being pissed off by the end of the day."

Lily glanced at where James and the Marauders were sitting and noticed his hardened expression right away. She again felt rather awful and depressed. "I don't really wanna talk about it."

Christina nodded, but still appeared concerned. "You know, you can always talk to me if you need to, right?"

Lily nodded. "I know. I just don't really know what to say just yet."

They both went back to eating. Lily noticed that dirty blonde-haired girl approach the rather stoic James out of the corner of her eye. She put her hands on the back of his shoulders, and Lily saw him visibly flinch at the contact. She leaned down and whispered something in his ear. He just nodded to her curtly before telling her what appeared to be 'just leave me alone.' The girl looked unconcerned, patted him on the back, and walked away. The Marauders got up to leave after that. As they walked past where Lily and Christina were sitting, Lily was positive Sirius was glaring at her, but the rest ignored the two of them. Lily and Christina soon followed suit and walked to Transfiguration.

James and Sirius were already sitting in the back. Remus and Peter had sat in front of them. Lily and Christina walked quickly over to the left where they usually sat. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and began class, "Ok, everyone. Today, we are going to try and do a bit of practical work. We are going to be using the 'mutatio' spell, which we had been going over in the last class. Now that we know the theory and have practiced changing our desks into small invertebrates, I now want you to be changing your desks into a mouse or another small vertebrate. This will be a bit more difficult so I will be helping. Go on then, off you go."

All of the students, save the Marauders, began attempting the spell straight off. Lily noticed Sirius, and even Remus, trying to coax James to open up, but James was refusing all attempts and remained sitting sullenly. None of them even tried to attempt the spell. Whenever Lily tried, her desk would turn into a slug with desk legs. Christina was no better though. Her desk shrunk a bit, but for some reason, it just turned green. After what was probably about twenty minutes of practicing, everyone's attention was drawn to Professor McGonagall when she spoke next. "Mr. Potter."

Everyone turned to look because you would have to have been blind not to notice that James was highly pissed off, withdrawn from all people, and was not attempting the spell at all. James glanced up leisurely at his name, but maintained his stony disposition. "Yes, Professor?"

Professor McGonagall frowned. James was usually always on his game in her class. She knew he was exceptional at Transfiguration, but he had always given her the respect of participating, regardless if he thought the spell easy. To see him slack off was a bit unnerving. "Are you or are you not going to attempt this spell?"

James looked her over and considered her words. He slowly pulled out his wand. Then, he merely looked at his desk, and without saying a word, moved his wand in a particular way. His desk immediately became a giant black dog that began running around the room. The Marauders all began to laugh, although no one knew why. Sirius was smiling, but he coughed into his hands— something that sounded like 'show off.' Professor McGonagall even looked a bit surprised and looked even more so when James coaxed the dog over to him, had the dog sit, and changed the dog back into his desk, again without a word. Everyone was wondering what she would do, but surprisingly, she simply sighed and patted him on his shoulder. "20 points to Gryffindor. Mr. Potter, please see me after class. The rest of you, please continue."

Everyone was positively mystified by what had just transpired. James was now staring moodily out the window, again doing nothing and not caring what people were saying. Lily knew he had just performed an amazing bit of Transfiguration, something they probably would not even get to until another four weeks or more of course work. Not only that— he had done it nonverbally.

After class, James waited patiently for every one of his classmates to leave before approaching Professor McGonagall. He was about to say something when Professor McGonagall cut him off with her hand, "No, it's nothing bad, Potter. I always knew you felt a little bored in my classes. Professor Dumbledore informed me near the start of the year that you had been studying his ancient books on Transfiguration over the summer and have become rather versed in the subject. I think it would be best if I merely scheduled an extra hour sometime where you and I could go over more advanced Transfiguration. I would still like you to attend the regular classes, if anything to refresh your memory and to help me with the other students."

James nodded. "Could Sirius come to the extra lessons too? He and I both have mastered the seventh year text already."

If Professor McGonagall was surprised about this request, she didn't show it. "That would be fine if he would like to come." She surveyed him as he nodded absently. "Is everything all right, Potter? You seem a bit off color today."

James shook his head at her question. "I'll be fine, Professor. Thanks for the extra lessons." Then, he suddenly gave her a devilish smile. "You know, you could always ask Sirius to tutor some students. I'm sure he would love that."

Professor McGonagall gave him a small smile in return. "Thank you, Potter, but I'm sure the thought of Sirius doing any tutoring would scare many students rather than help them."

James nodded and chuckled while he left. Professor McGonagall was curious as to his behavior, but was somewhat relieved to see him smile a bit. Hopefully, whatever was wrong would smooth over eventually.

By the end of that day, everyone knew something must have happened between James and Lily, although no one knew exactly what. From that day on, they never spoke to each other. Not one word. James always wore a stony expression whenever he was around her while Lily began to look more and more depressed. Sirius and Remus had tried getting James to just talk with Lily about whatever had happened, as he had never really discussed what had occurred between them exactly. Lily, similarly, was hearing from Christina and from Shelley (to whom she had written), to do the same thing. Needless to say, to get away from the pressure of their friends, both had stayed at school while everyone else went to Hogsmeade that weekend.

James was really more angry at himself for what he had said. He could tell Lily was taking everything he had said to heart or too personally and was being incredibly hard on herself. He highly suspected she wasn't eating right either. Every night, she holed herself up in her room. This made him feel incredibly guilty. He wasn't sure if he could apologize for what he had said though, mainly because minus the harsh words and his tone, most of what he had said was true.

Without speaking or deciding, both of them had been doing their nightly patrols solo every other night, like James had suggested on the Hogwarts' Express. When Lily would go, James would watch the Marauders' Map, just to make sure she was alright by herself. At first thought, other people might find this a bit stalker-like, but he didn't see it like that at all. The other students were rather harsh with her for whatever reason, and the Slytherins would probably love to catch her alone. Most of the time, she found herself out of harm's way. Sometimes he noticed that when she was done with her patrol, she would go up to the astronomy tower and sit for a while before returning. That was what she was currently doing anyway. It was late, and she normally started heading back around this time. He watched the Map a bit concerned for a few minutes, but became pleased when she began to leave the astronomy tower finally. He was about to close the Map and go off to his room before she got back, when he noticed movement in the hallway at the base of the astronomy tower. It was Bella, and surprisingly, Malfoy. James immediately pocketed the Map and grabbed his wand, hoping to head them off. He knew Lily could probably take care of herself, but not if she was caught by surprise.

James wandered quickly and cautiously over to the astronomy tower. Those two should not be out of bed; Malfoy wasn't even a prefect. He just hoped he wouldn't be too late to stop whatever chaos they were planning on starting. It had already been a few minutes. When he turned the corner, he was horrified by what he saw. Lily was on the ground, withering and apparently screaming, although no sound could be heard. He quickly saw Malfoy looking mighty happy with his wand out, and Bella was laughing quietly behind him. James immediately sent two stunners out at them. Malfoy was hit dead on, but the second one barely missed Bella. Bella just turned and smiled cruelly at him, "Well, if it isn't James Potter, coming to save his little girlfriend, although he should know he could have so much more with me."

Lily was shaking like a leaf and slowly began to pull herself towards the wall. She looked madly around for her wand, but it lay a few feet away behind James, and she had no energy whatsoever to even move. James had no idea how long she had been held under the curse, but it looked long enough to cause her to be weak to the point of almost unconsciousness. She needed to get to the hospital wing. He kept his wand out on Bella and said, "Shut it, Bella. What the hell do you think you two are doing, using the Cruciatus curse in Hogwarts? Are you out of your mind?"

Bella just laughed, "Come on James, what's the big deal? You know you should just join our side. Who cares about the damn muggleborns anyway? We could be great together, you know. The Dark Lord agrees because he knows I will take good care of you, and you'd be a powerful asset. Our parents thought we'd be great together too."

James' eyes narrowed on her, and he practically hissed out, "I just bet you would love that, wouldn't you, Bella? In case you have forgotten, my parents were appalled when your parents brought that disgusting agreement for us to be betrothed over to our house when we were TEN YEARS OLD. Not only did my parents vehemently deny the agreement, but I personally want nothing to do with you or your family, minus your cousin. Besides, aren't you promised to that Lestrange git, who graduated a few years ago? What do you care about me for?"

Lily was still breathing funny and was really weak, but even she was mildly concerned and appalled at the lengths pure-blood families would go in attempting to keep the bloodline pure. Bella just continued to eye James with interest, batting her eyes slightly at him, "But James, my parents would like for it to still be you, and you know it. Plus, you're much better to look at than Lestrange."

James' face immediately turned in disgust. He felt like a piece of meat. "You are sick, Bella. I have no idea what you are trying to pull, but by your actions tonight, Dumbledore is not going to consider them lightly. Now, lower your wand, and we will walk calmly up to the Headmaster's Office to sort this out."

Bella just sneered. "You wish, Potter."

She sent a curse flying at him, which he was able to deflect with a shield charm. He noticed her ennervate Malfoy, who sluggishly began to get up, but he was able to petrify her while her back was turned. Malfoy sneered at him. "Welcome, Potter. I can't say I'm surprised."

James shot another spell at Malfoy, but he dodged it. Malfoy laughed and suddenly made a slashing movement with his wand, muttered under his breath, and sent purple flames at James. Lily watched James' eyes widen in disbelief as he physically dodged the curse by running into the wall. He turned and looked back over at Malfoy, still looking rather stunned. "That's incredibly dark magic, Malfoy. What the hell do you think you are playing at?"

Lily was alarmed at how horrified James looked. She had no idea what curse he had fired, but it must be awful for James to be worried. Malfoy just snickered. "Can't handle it, Potter? How about your little girlfriend then?"

James' eyes widened. Lily was incredibly weak and probably wouldn't be able to take it. "No."

Malfoy began the curse and pointed his wand at Lily. Without thinking, James jumped in front of her and took the curse instead. He immediately fell to the ground unconscious. Lily was horrified. She knew she had to do something quick, despite her being weak. She grabbed James' discarded wand which had fallen at her feet and pointed it at Malfoy, who was now approaching her. She petrified him easily because she had caught him off guard. She pointed the wand at herself and removed the silencing charm. "James! James, can you hear me?"

As she rolled him over, she noticed he was struggling to breathe a bit, but was unconscious. This was bad. She had no idea what the curse did, but she needed to get help right away. Finding strength somewhere deep inside of herself, she pulled herself up to her feet and staggered along the wall. She headed straight to Dumbledore's office, which was a bit further away than she had thought, or maybe it felt that way because she was so weak and tired. Eventually, she reached the gargoyles. She knew she must be extremely pale because the light-headed feeling clouding her head was beginning to get worse. She had to be close to fainting. "Lemon Drops."

The gargoyles sprang apart. Lily made her way as quickly as possible up the stairs. She banged on Dumbledore's door, calling for him, saying it was an emergency. She was leaning against the wall by the door, breathing erratically, when Dumbledore opened. His eyes immediately widened, and he appeared deeply concerned when he saw her in such a state. "What is it, Lily? What's wrong?"

Lily closed her eyes briefly and tried to calm down. She wasn't even sure she could make a complete sentence. "Lucius and Bellatrix. Cruciatus. James tried to help. Lucius sent a dark curse; it looked like purple flames. James took it. He's hurt badly."

Dumbledore's eyes hardened at every word she was able to say. He immediately began to move, pulling her along carefully. "Where?"

Lily struggled to keep up. "Astronomy tower. Lucius and Bellatrix are petrified, I think."

Dumbledore nodded. "Fawkes!"

Fawkes landed on Dumbledore's shoulder as they walked quickly onto the now dismal looking scene. Dumbledore immediately crouched down to survey James. Lily leaned against the closest wall for support when they stopped. Dumbledore's eyes widened a bit with deep concern. "Fawkes, please take James to the hospital wing immediately and come back for Lily."

Fawkes gave a trill and landed on James' chest before they both disappeared. Dumbledore turned to Lily. "You were hit with the Cruciatus? How long?"

Lily was dizzy from all the activity and was leaning heavily on the wall. "I don't know, but I don't feel so good."

Dumbledore nodded as Fawkes returned. Fawkes offered his tail to Lily. "Touch his feathers, Lily. Please inform Madam Pomfrey that James was hit with the Attero curse and about yourself. I will talk with you more about what happened in the morning once you've had some rest. I will take care of these two students."

Lily was suddenly in the hospital wing. She had felt no sensation. She didn't even have time to admire the beautiful bird before he disappeared once again. She noticed Madam Pomfrey waving her wand wildly over James, who was lying unconscious in one of the beds, trying to figure out what was wrong. Lily's vision was swimming, and she felt weak on her feet. "Madam Pomfrey? Dumbledore told me to tell you that James had been hit with the Attero curse. I was hit with the Cruciatus. Is it alright if I lie down?"

Madam Pomfrey suddenly looked horrified at her. "WHAT? Lie down, child. Try and stay conscious til I have a look at you."

She immediately ran to the back of the hospital wing up to a tall, dark cabinet Lily had never seen her use before. She pulled out what looked to be about fifteen vials of potion and wheeled them over to James. She began administering them all immediately. "Unbelievable. Who would dare use such a horrible curse?"

Lily was surprised at the amount of potions being used to help James. After a few minutes, Madam Pomfrey brought two potions over to her. "Here you go, dear. The first will make you feel better while the second is for dreamless sleep. You need rest above all else."

Lily nodded and took the first potion. "Is James going to be ok?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "He's a fighter, that one. He'll be fine. He'll be unconscious for a few days and will have to take about ten potions a day for about a week, but he'll come out of it ok."

Lily took the dreamless sleep potion. It was a matter of seconds before she closed her eyes and was able to drift away from all the commotion of the evening.


	3. Chapter 3

1Chapter 3 - Bad News

Lily opened her eyes and saw nothing but white. That's when everything came back to her. The Cruciatus curse. James. The hospital wing. She sat up abruptly. Professor Dumbledore noticed, as he was nearby. "Ahh, Lily. You're awake."

Lily looked over and saw him sitting near James, who was still unconscious. He looked as if he had been there for a while. "Good morning, Sir."

Dumbledore sighed. "Well, not completely good anyway. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Alright, I suppose. Much better than last night."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, I would hope so. I was hoping you could tell me exactly what occurred last night. Both Ms. Black and Mr. Malfoy were rather uncooperative, although between you and me, they gave me a rough idea within their minds. Both of them will be spending the rest of the year in detentions each week. Ms. Black has also been removed from prefect duty and has been replaced by Ms. Delmont."

Lily told him the story, about how she had been ambushed by the two of them, how James had come out of nowhere and stopped it, and how James had taken the curse instead of her. When Dumbledore saw her glance sorrowfully over at James, he spoke, "James will be alright, my dear. He did it because he knew you would probably not have been able to handle it after being weakened by the Cruciatus curse. It is an awful curse. He is a Gryffindor through and through."

Lily nodded quietly to herself, still a bit stunned that even after everything that had happened between them and with him being so angry with her, he would jump willing in front of a curse just to save her. If anything, she felt even worse about herself now than she did before. "I surmised as much."

Madam Pomfrey chose that time to come on over. "Well, child. I think you are going to be just fine. I have one more potion for you, and then you can be on your way. It is about an hour til lunch."

Lily gulped down the potion. It was the same one she had been given the night before. Dumbledore gave her a small smile. "I believe the Marauders will wonder where James is. If you can let them know during lunch, it would be most appreciated."

"Yes, Sir."

Lily made her way to the Heads' Dorm where she showered and changed. When she made her way into the Great Hall, people were chattering incessantly. Lily hadn't walked two feet before she found Sirius standing in front of her, looking concerned. "Where is he? Did something else happen? Why were you both missing?"

Lily sighed. "He's in the hospital wing, Black."

Sirius' eyes narrowed at her. "What did you do to him?"

Lily held up her hands. "It wasn't me. Well, not really. Umm, I ran into some trouble last night, and he stepped in."

Black was eyeing her. He knew she wasn't telling him everything. "Who did it?"

Lily glanced over at the Slytherin table quickly, noticing two particularly cruel smiles. She also was wary of Sirius' widely-known temper. "I don't think I should tell you…at least here."

Sirius' eyes flared. "It was my absolutely lovely cousin, wasn't it? And one of her cronies?"

Lily merely nodded, unsure of how to handle Sirius' anger. She almost sighed with relief when Remus walked up to them both. "What's going on, Sirius?"

Sirius' eyes were still blazing. "Come on, Moony. Grab Wormtail. We have to leave."

Lily watched the three boys leave before immediately sitting down next to Christina. Christina looked over at her. "Are you alright? Black looked rather pissed off. Is this about Potter again?"

Lily sighed and grabbed some food. "Something like that. He's in the hospital wing."

Christina's eyes widened. "Slytherins?"

Lily nodded. "Can't you tell? They're all gloating over there."

She watched Christina glance over at the Slytherin table where most were sitting and looking a bit happier than usual. "Ugh. What a mess. We have them in Care of Magical Creatures this afternoon. They are going to be so annoying."

Lily couldn't agree more.

It had been two days since the hallway disaster. James had yet to wake up. Lily, out of curiosity and concern, found herself in the library researching the Attero curse. She had been horrified to learn about it. The curse, upon contact, did three horrible things: crushed the ribcage, collapsed the lungs, and began burning your internal organs. Not only that, but a standard shield charm wouldn't block it. She now understood why Dumbledore had acted as quickly as he did and why James must have known that with her weakened body, the curse might have killed her if he had allowed her to take it. Not that she thought he would have let her take it anyway— James was the epitome of a brave Gryffindor.

She had gone to see him a few times, not only because of guilt, but to make sure he was doing ok. In fact, that was where she was heading now. When she rounded the corner, she was surprised to see him finally awake and talking quietly with Madam Pomfrey. She gently knocked on the door to announce her presence. They both turned to her. Madam Pomfrey patted his arm and walked off into her office. Lily approached him awkwardly and sat on the empty bed across from him. "So…you're awake. How are you feeling?"

James sighed and immediately put a hand to his chest when the effort from that simple act seemed to hurt him. "I'll be alright. A little chest pain never hurt anybody."

He seemed a little distant with her, but she had expected that. She had no idea what to really say so she kind of blurted out her next thought, "You shouldn't have done this."

James' head rolled across his pillow towards her, and she saw his face frown as he focused on her. "If you're every bit the girl I know you are, you already researched the curse that was used and know what could've happened to you if you had taken the curse." He looked away from her then. "Besides, even if you weren't in a weakened state at the time, I probably still would have done it. I wouldn't want you to have to go through this."

Lily was surprised and slightly touched by his words. They were both silent for a bit, but at least, it didn't feel as awkward. Lily sighed. "I'm sorry about before."

James nodded, but lifted his hand waving off her apology. "You shouldn't be sorry. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. It was my fault."

Lily shook her head, knowing she had deserved some of what he had said. "Let's just forget about it then."

"I'm sorry about what you heard from Bella too. She can be a bit of a bitch."

Lily laughed a bit and nodded, but her curiosity got the best of her so she had to ask, "Was what she saying really true?"

James continued to look away from her. "Unfortunately, yes."

Lily appeared concerned. "Her family really did that?"

James nodded and randomly met her eyes again, his expression indicating a need to explain something that she probably didn't understand. "It was different when we were younger, you know, before she got caught up with all those pure-blood ideals from her crazy family. At charity dinners and the like, all of the pure-blood children, all of us included, were placed in a room together while our parents were forced to do this or that, and believe it or not, we all got along. It wasn't until it was almost time for us all to go to Hogwarts that you could begin to see the differentiation between, well, people like my family and people like the Blacks. It's amazing that I can actually remember Bella, Cissa, Sirius, and I all laughing together, and then be forced to look at who they've become now."

Lily was about to comment, when someone else knocked on the door. They both turned, and she saw it was the dirty blonde-haired girl. Lily instantly got up, feeling like a third wheel. "I've gotta get going anyway. See you later, James. You can tell me more later if you want."

She heard him call out goodbye to her as she left. Then, she heard him greet the girl rather

happily and saw him let her attempt to hug him out of the corner of her eye. Who was she anyway? And why did seeing him so happy with her bother her so much? Why did she secretly hope she wasn't an old girlfriend, or perhaps, a new girlfriend?

It had been another three days. Three, long, boring days. James was still stuck in the hospital, but he was getting annoyed with being there. "Please, Madam Pomfrey? I can come down here every morning and take these— wait, how many were there? Ten potions?"

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips. "James Potter, you will do nothing of the sort! You are going to stay here for at least one more day. Your ribs still aren't fully healed yet. I do not want you traipsing around the castle doing Merlin knows what with your friends or playing a rough game of quidditch and getting yourself stuck back in here again. If you decide to pull one of your little stunts and sneak off, I will contact Professor Dumbledore."

James groaned, but winced and placed a hand on his chest. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to stay after all. He conceded, "Fine, but one more day. That's it. I can't take it anymore."

Madam Pomfrey just bristled at him as she walked away. He would do what she and what Dumbledore told him he would do. Sirius walked in just then. "Hey, mate. So Madam Pomfrey's not allowing you to bust out, huh?"

James shook his head, looking bored. "At least one more day, Padfoot. Where's the rest of the guys?"

Sirius shrugged. "Wormtail is always running off, as you know. Moony is studying like a good little prefect."

James sighed. "You know studying really isn't all that bad, depending on the topic. Are you going to go to Professor McGonagall's extra lessons with me after I bust out of here?"

Sirius shrugged. "Probably. Besides, it gives me extra time to be with Minnie, my favorite Professor."

James snorted. "I thought you had a crush on the Muggle Studies Professor, even though you don't take the course?"

Sirius considered this. "Well, she is a rather pretty little byrd, isn't she?"

James smiled cockily. "I wouldn't know. I'm partial to redheads."

Sirius just grinned at him. "Lily come around yet?"

James shook his head, frowning and looking away. "I know I haven't told you everything. Just know we have a few things to sort out still, you know, from before."

Sirius nodded, not really caring that James wasn't telling him everything. James always filled him in when he was ready. Sirius never needed to force him. "Whatever, mate."

"So, what is going to be the next prank?"

Sirius' eyes lit up. "Well, with you gone, we had to postpone the few we had been discussing. It has been a rather quiet week for the Marauders. We wanted to do the one with the Slytherins all singing and dancing madly for Halloween. We could do the one where we suddenly vanish all of the Slytherins' undergarments while we are in one of the classes, once you're back of course."

James snickered. "That will be real funny."

"What will?"

Both Sirius and James turned to see Lily standing in the doorway, carrying some books. Sirius didn't miss a beat, "Uhh, the Gryffindor quidditch game if James can't play."

Lily looked at them both oddly. "You do know that James will be alright and the quidditch game is about a month away still?"

James jutted in, "Sirius is just worried about my ribs and all."

Lily looked at them suspiciously, but couldn't find any fault in what they were saying. "Right. Well, James, I brought you some of your school books, and that Transfiguration book you've been reading. Professor McGonagall told me to make sure you weren't slacking while you were sitting in here doing nothing."

Sirius groaned. "Minnie. Always a mood killer."

James snickered at Sirius. "Stop it, Padfoot. One of these days, she is going to get you back for continuously calling her Minnie."

Sirius just grinned his arrogant grin back at James. "You know she gets a kick out of it. Makes her feel younger."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you two. For some reason, McGonagall likes you both. Why do you give her such a hard time?"

Sirius laughed. "Because it's the Marauders' duty, Lily."

Lily rolled her eyes and was about to add something when Professor Dumbledore waltzed in looking rather somber and sad. "Excuse me, Ms. Evans, but may I speak privately with both Mr. Black and Mr. Potter?"

Lily looked startled at being pushed away, but she knew Dumbledore would never ask if it

wasn't important. "That's fine, Sir. I was just dropping off some stuff. I can go."

Both boys were looking curiously at Dumbledore. However, he maintained his silence until Lily left and closed the door behind her.

Lily was walking away, but glanced back at the hospital wing out of curiosity. What she saw stopped her heart. Whatever Dumbledore was speaking about caused James to pale considerably and look absolutely stunned. She could see tears start to fall from his eyes, seemingly acting on their own accord. Although Sirius' back was to her, she saw him stumble and lean against the empty hospital bed behind him, equally shocked. She furrowed her brow. What could possibly have made the three of them so sad?

Lily found her way to the Great Hall. Other students were mulling around, but she saw Remus acting rather frantically. He approached her quickly. "Where are Sirius and James?"

She looked back at him oddly. "They're both in the hospital wing."

Remus moved to go find them, but Lily stopped him, "Remus, Dumbledore was in there with them and, well, whatever he was saying was not good news."

Remus nodded sadly at her words. "Thanks, Lily. I have to go though."

Lily watched him leave before heading over to Christina. "Hey, you want to go study in the Gryffindor common room with me?"

Christina looked up. "Nah. Maybe later. It's Saturday, and it's bound to be packed right now. People tend to go up to their rooms early though. We can go back there in a little while. Since dinner cleared up after you left, it's like a regular study hall again."

She and Christina had finished up with Herbology, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy, before they started heading to the Gryffindor common room. Once they got close enough, they noticed the portrait swinging open with loads of students leaving, complaining about the noise. Curious, both Christina and Lily entered, but they didn't have to look very far for the reason.

"LAUREN! Come down here this instant! You are being absolutely insane for staying up there all day! You have to EAT! LAUREN! No, Remus. She doesn't understand. She can't just hide up there all alone. Don't tell me I don't know how she feels. LAUREN!"

Remus was gently trying to soothe Sirius, who looked incredibly pale and was shouting at the top of his lungs up the stairwell to the girls' dormitories. Lily cautiously approached the two of them. "Sirius, what's going on? Why in the world are you shouting?"

Sirius turned at the sound of her voice, almost in relief. "LILY! You can help! Of course, you can help. Please coax Lauren to come down here. She's locked herself in her room and hasn't eaten all day."

Another girl approached them and eyed Lily disdainfully. Lily thought she was a sixth year. "Just so you know, Lily, Lauren has locked the sixth year dorm with some kind of ward. None of us have been able to go into our dorm all day. We figured she would get over whatever it is, but she hasn't yet."

When the girl rolled her eyes, Sirius' eyes darkened. "What would you know, you little prat!" Sirius turned back to Lily pleading, "Please, Lily. She needs to come down. She shouldn't be alone right now."

Lily nodded slightly and headed up towards the girls' dormitories, which seemed to calm Sirius a bit. She finally reached the sixth year girls' dorm and knocked gently on the door, calling out, "Lauren? Are you in there? It's Lily Evans."

Lily heard a distinct sniffle and a sob. "Go away."

Lily didn't know what to do. She tried all of the unlocking charms she knew, and some minor wards, but nothing worked. Then, she heard the girl's voice again, "You won't be able to get in. The ward is complicated and requires a password."

Lily sighed. "Lauren, I'm not sure what's wrong, but you can't lock everyone else out of the dormitory. If I give you another hour or so, will you promise to unlock the dorm so the other girls can get back in? Otherwise, I will have to notify Professor McGonagall."

The girl sniffled. "Ok."

Lily nodded to herself. This was at least some progress. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

The girl gave a small cry, and Lily heard more sniffles. "No." There was a pause before the girl added, "Well, you can always tell Sirius to shut up for me."

Lily chuckled at the girl's brazenness. "I'll do that."

Lily made her way downstairs and was surprised when Sirius jumped up and ran in front of her. "Is she coming down? Is she ok?"

Lily gently pushed him back. "Sirius, she just needs some time to herself. And she told me to tell you to shut up."

Remus chuckled behind them. Sirius just rolled his eyes. "That's it. I can't take this anymore."

Lily had no idea what Sirius was planning on doing, but he dragged Remus out of the common room to do it. Lily then turned her attention to the other sixth year girls, who were waiting patiently. Most looked rather pissed off. Celia, from the quidditch team, was the only one who appeared unconcerned. "I told her she has to unlock the dorm within the hour, and she agreed. It should be alright. I'm sorry about the inconvenience, but if it were you, you would want the same courtesy, whatever the problem."

The sixth year girls just nodded, although they still looked put off by being shunned from their own dorm. Lily made her way over to Christina, who was sitting on the far right side of the common room. "Well, that was interesting."

Christina nodded. "Nothing but entertainment from Sirius Black. So Charms, Transfiguration, DADA, or Potions?"

Lily sighed. "Charms."

By the time the two had finished up their Charm work and were about to start Transfiguration, they were startled by the portrait opening. Sirius walked in, but not with Remus, with James wearing Remus' school robe over his pajamas. James' face was a bit pale and held little expression, but his eyes were sad and determined. He held a hand over his chest as he walked in behind Sirius slowly. Lily knew the walk from the hospital wing must have caused him some trouble. Everyone in the common room had turned to look at him, as they had not seen him in the last five days. He didn't even notice the attention. "She upstairs?"

Sirius nodded. James walked slowly over to the girls' stairwell and began moving his wand in intricate movements, muttering an incantation. His wand emitted gentle sparks as he wove it in the intricate pattern. When he was done, he was able to step onto the girls' stairwell without it turning into a slide. Lily was not the only one who was surprised he knew how to remove the ward and she was about to stop him, but somehow felt she shouldn't. Sirius made a move to follow, but James waved his wand sharply while muttering another incantation and a sound of a door locking rumbled throughout the common room. Sirius stopped at the bottom of the stairs scowling and punched an invisible door. James ignored him and slowly climbed the stairs. Lily watched Sirius sit back on the couch in a huff with his arms crossed over his chest.

About thirty minutes later, James came slowly down the stairs. He waved his wand to get rid of the locked door and then began the intricate pattern of wand work to restore the ward on the girls' stairwell. Sirius had jumped up and waited for him to finish before asking, "So?"

James just sighed and started walking toward the portrait hole. "Let's go, Sirius. We have to make a stop at the kitchens."

Sirius looked horrified at his suggestion. "James, we have to get you back to the infirmary. If Madam Pomfrey finds Remus in your place, she is going to be livid."

James just kept walking, determined. "She hasn't eaten all day. We are going to the kitchens."

Lily watched them leave with Sirius trying to persuade a rather stoic James not to go to the kitchens. Lily and Christina continued to finish up Transfiguration. However, after a few more minutes, Christina pushed her school stuff away from her and groaned. "I can't do anymore, Lily. We should just finish this bit up tomorrow. Will you help me take some of my stuff upstairs?"

Lily nodded and helped her with some of her books. They walked up the girls' stairwell, and as Lily passed the sixth year girls' dorm, she was surprised to see the door ajar. James must have been able to get in. Lily could see the now familiar dirty blonde-haired girl sitting with her hair in front of her face on her bed, fiddling with a piece of paper. The girl appeared sad, but she was no longer crying. She also noticed a platter of assorted foods and some pumpkin juice at the foot of her bed. Lily smiled to herself. Apparently, James could be really sweet. She had no idea what relationship Lauren and James had, but it appeared to be like family rather than girlfriend/boyfriend. She was confused by that thought because she knew James was an only child. Lily dropped off Christina's books, collected all her own things from the common room, and headed to the Heads' Dorm. She would have to find out more tomorrow.

The next morning, Lily didn't have to wait very long for her to find out exactly what happened yesterday. As soon as she walked into the Great Hall, she noticed that everyone was talking in hushed whispers and fawning over The Daily Prophet. Curious, she sat down in front of Christina. Christina didn't say one word, but instead shoved the paper in front of her. Lily gasped at the main story.

_POTTER TRAGEDY_

_Just yesterday in the early morning, Mr. Andrew James Potter and Mrs. Judith Anne Potter were murdered in the line of duty as Aurors with the Ministry. The Ministry is being tight-lipped about the exact assignment Mr. and Mrs. Potter were on that night, but it can be inferred that it had something to do with the now well-known menace, Lord— well, You-Know-Who. The Dark Mark had been fired off, just before re-enforcements had arrived. By the time the help made their way inside the abandoned building, both Mr. and Mrs. Potter had been killed and any possible perpetrators had vanished. The Ministry has not given any further information._

_Mr. and Mrs. Potter leave behind their only child, 17 year old, James Harry Potter, currently Head Boy at Hogwarts._

_Services have been scheduled for tomorrow._

Lily looked over at Christina horrified. "No."

Christina merely nodded sadly. "I knew something bad must have happened, what with the way the Marauders were acting and all, but this is just horrible."

Lily glanced around. "Why is everyone gossiping about this? Shouldn't they want to leave James alone? I would want the same courtesy if something like this had happened to me."

Christina sighed. "The Marauders and that girl, Lauren, have not come to breakfast yet, probably to avoid all of this commotion. The reason everyone is so on edge about it is because this Lord whatever guy has usually only attacked muggles and muggleborns thus far. He just killed two members of a very powerful pure-blood family. Look over at the Slytherins. Even they are surprised; well, some of them anyway."

Lily glanced over at the Slytherins. Most looked rather subdued while a select few, like the Blacks and Malfoy, seemed to look as if Christmas had come early although they were playing it off by looking concerned. "What's going to happen? I still don't understand all the fuss. So this Lord guy is now murdering anyone."

Christina sighed. "I know you're not familiar with all the pure-blood stuff, but now Potter is going to have to have the whole pure-blood funeral arrangements and such. Whenever a pure-blood of a powerful or renowned pure-blood family dies, the funerals are very elaborate and all pure-blood families are required to attend. This isn't some written rule; I just think it's how things are done."

Lily thought about what she said for a minute and then looked stunned. "Does that mean that even the Blacks, Malfoys, Lestranges, etc all have to attend?"

Christina nodded solemnly. "Yep. Now, you see why this is so monumental. The Potters were widely known as blood traitors too. I actually feel bad for Potter for both this pure-blood crap and for just losing his parents."

Lily nodded to herself quietly. She began to eat slowly, but was surprised when the Great Hall diminished into silence. When she looked up to figure out the reason, she saw that the Marauders and Lauren had walked into the Great Hall. James was holding Lauren's hand and acted like he didn't notice anything was wrong. He didn't stop, didn't look at anybody, led Lauren over to the table, and waited until she sat down before sitting down himself. The rest of the Marauders took their seats around them. She watched as both Sirius and James placed some food on Lauren's plate before helping themselves. Lauren just sat there and didn't eat anything until James rubbed her back and whispered in her ear.

The Great Hall went back to their hushed whispering. Lily frowned at the way people were acting. Lily knew the group had waited until most people had left the Great Hall before coming in themselves, as breakfast was almost over. It was sad knowing that they wouldn't be able to get any privacy over the matter. She looked over at Christina. "Is that Lauren girl part of his family?"

Christina frowned. "No one really knows. I mean, everyone knows James is an only child. She could be a cousin or something. She's just a quiet sixth year who doesn't have many friends in Gryffindor— probably because like you, James Potter and the Marauders give her attention. I've seen her talk mostly with Ravenclaws and the Marauders. I think she must be a pure-blood, although no one has confirmed that. Her last name is Shelton, but I've never heard of a pure-blood family by that name, not to say it doesn't exist. I guess because she is taking the Potters' deaths so hard, they probably are family."

Lily was surprised. "Well, that's interesting. I wonder why she keeps to herself so much."

Christina nodded absent-mindedly. "Yeah, I don't know either. I've talked with her a few times, and she was nice. Not really sure about anything else though."

Just then, the unthinkable happened. A large group of Slytherins got up and walked over to Potter, led by Bellatrix Black. Lily was going to get up and say something to them, but Christina grabbed her hand and shook her head with a look that said 'don't even think about it.' Upon seeing the group come over, James and Sirius immediately stood up. James waved his wand, and when Bellatrix began to speak, no one could hear what was being said. As Bellatrix continued, Sirius began to look absolutely murderous, but remained quiet. James' expression gave away nothing, but when he responded, it looked somewhat forced. Bellatrix and the rest of the clan nodded and walked away. Sirius and James waited for them all to leave before sitting down again.

Lily was horrendously confused. "Ok, what the hell was that?"

Christina sighed. "Probably information regarding the services. I told you they all would be going."

Lily sighed and felt horrible for James. She had no idea how he was putting up with all of this.


	4. Chapter 4

1Chapter 4 – Aftermath

Lily was patrolling by herself that night. She just assumed James would not be up to it, not to mention she hadn't seen him in the Heads' Dorm all day. The halls were pretty quiet anyway, what with everyone so concerned about the Potters. She had just finished and was heading slowly back to the Heads' Dorm when she found herself in front of Professor Dumbledore. "Ahh, Ms. Evans…just who I was looking for."

Lily frowned. "You were looking for me, Sir?"

Dumbledore sighed and began to walk with her in the direction of the Heads' Dorm. "Yes, Lily. I wanted to inform you that I will not be in the castle tomorrow or the next day. You will be acting alone as the Head Girl, seeing as James will be away as well. If there are any problems, please report to Professor McGonagall."

Lily nodded. She had figured as much. "Ok, Sir."

Dumbledore nodded and then backtracked towards his office. Lily continued walking and found herself in the sixth floor corridor. She tapped her wand three times on the wall and made her way through to the sphinx. "McGonagall is secretly a kitty."

The sphinx instantly moved aside and she made her way over to the couch, where she had left a number of her books open. She had done all of her homework for the coming week, but she had found a couple of library books on useful charms that she had begun reading. Everything was quiet until she heard the sphinx step aside once more, and she saw James enter with Lauren. "Lauren, you can just go on to my room. I'll come in to get a few things later, ok?"

She nodded quietly and left James and Lily in the common room. James plopped down on the couch beside Lily with a sigh. "I hope you don't mind her staying in here tonight. She just wanted to get away from all of those annoying Gryffindor girls." He frowned slightly. "They're rather mean to her; well, except Celia. Plus, she wanted some privacy."

Lily shook her head. "I don't mind. I'm sorry about what happened. I was horrified when I found out."

James looked over at her briefly, and she could see the sadness still fresh in his hazel eyes. "Yeah. What was worse was getting their letters. When you enter work as an Auror, you write these goodbye letters that the Ministry keeps in case something happens. That was horrible to read."

Lily thought he looked so sad that she wanted to hug him to take the pain away, but knew that would not be appropriate, seeing as they were barely friends to begin with. "I'm sorry. Lauren seems to be taking it rather hard too. Is she family?"

James sighed, knowing he would have to answer that question. He only hesitated briefly before stating, "She's my cousin on my mom's side, although that is not common knowledge. Her parents were killed when she was seven, and she moved in with my family. I think it's like losing her parents all over again. I'm trying to be strong for her. She'll always be my little sister."

Lily looked slightly surprised. "No one knows that you are family, do they?"

James shook his head. "Not really. My family line is a closely regarded secret. There are now only four people including myself that know everything. I'm sure Lauren, well me too, would like for you to keep the knowledge to yourself, although many people have probably guessed by now that she and I are related somehow."

Lily nodded. "What about Sirius? Doesn't he live with you too? I thought I heard something like that last year from one of the Blacks."

James frowned slightly, his eyes looking off into the distance as he thought over what he would ay. "I won't tell you too much, although from how the Blacks behave, you can sort of understand. Sirius ran away from home the summer after fifth year. He's been living with me ever since. He was the second son my parents never had. I'm sure we are distant cousins anyway. All of the pure-blood families are inter-related somewhere if you go back far enough."

"Well, I suppose I should get all my stuff out of here, as I imagine you will be sleeping out here. You seem like a gentleman, even though it must have been buried beneath a whole lot of arrogance."

Her tone had no malice behind it, and it almost seemed like she was playing with him. James gave her a small smile. "Yeah."

Lily nodded and began to collect her stuff, when James interrupted, "Wait, I want you to have something for the next two days, while I'm gone."

She looked over at him curiously when he pulled out an old looking bit of parchment. "Uhh, what is it?"

James just chuckled and rotated the parchment in his hands. "Now, don't tell anyone or turn this in or the Marauders will have my head."

Lily was still looking at him oddly, but he was waiting for her to promise before he was going to continue. It was parchment for goodness sakes. "Ok, I promise."

James nodded, took out his wand, touched it to the parchment, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The parchment immediately came alive. Lily looked at down at it in surprise. "The Marauders' Map? A Map of what?"

James opened the parchment and watched Lily's eyes widen. "Merlin! That's— that's Hogwarts! Wait, there's me!"

James chuckled as he pointed on the map, "And me. And Lauren. And anyone else you want to find."

Lily just looked back at him suspiciously. "This is how you get away with everything, isn't it?"

James shook his head. "Not really, but I suppose it helps delay the inevitable. I'm letting you borrow it so you don't find yourself in harm's way when you do patrol by yourself when I'm gone. Most of the worst Slytherins will be away, but at least the ones that remain won't be able to do anything to you if you have this. You'll be able to see them coming before they reach you."

Lily looked over at him; there was something about his tone when he said all that, and there was the fact that he was trying not to look at her. What he was saying was really sweet. For the first time, looking back on everything, including his actions right now, maybe James Potter really did truly like her, not as a joke. That thought scared her because maybe, just maybe, after what she was beginning to learn about him, she might actually like him back. She, for once, was unsure of how to act and speak around him now. "Umm, thanks."

James shrugged. "Oh, and when you're done, just tap it once more and say 'mischief managed' to hide the Map."

She watched as he did just that, and then handed her the parchment. She took it with all of her other things. "Goodnight, James. See you when you get back."

James nodded and watched her go into her own room before proceeding over to his own door and knocking gently. "Lauren, can I come in?"

He heard her say ok so he made his way inside and grabbed a few of his things before heading to his bathroom to shower. He was not going to want to do so in the morning. When he made his way out of the bathroom in his pajamas, he sat down on his bed next to Lauren, who was reading one of his books on wards that had been on the floor. "Could this day get any worse?"

Lauren shook her head sadly. "This was about as bad as they get, James."

He sighed. "Why them?"

Lauren looked thoughtful. "Because Voldemort could. You know, Dumbledore said this might happen. He said it this past summer. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it."

James nodded absently. "I remember, but maybe I was naive in thinking he was wrong."

"Dumbledore said Voldemort would attempt to do it just because Dumbledore was close to our family. It probably had nothing to do with who they were." She frowned, tilting her head as she mulled over another possibility. "Well, maybe not. None of the other pure-blood families have ever liked us either so it's possible they were made a target because of that too."

James was quiet for a moment. He remembered his last words with Bella and how he refused her advances vehemently the night he had saved Lily. He hoped that the finality in what he had said, that he would never support the pure-blood ideals like she did or be interested in her, was not a factor in the death of his parents merely days later. Frowning at that thought, he suddenly got up and stretched with a groan. "I don't want to think about this anymore. Get some sleep. I'll wake you in the morning."

Lauren just laughed, and looked at him with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. It was the first time James had seen her laugh since they had found out what happened, and that made him feel better. If he didn't have his parents, at least he had some family left in her and Sirius and well— his secret. "I have a feeling I'll be waking you, Jamesie dear. Don't I always? Did you pack a bag already?"

James nodded and pointed to the corner. "It's over there. Night, Lauren."

Lauren sighed and moved to get ready for bed. "Night, Jimmy."

Lily took her time getting ready the next morning. She didn't want to disturb James if he was still sleeping out on the couch. She wasn't sure when he and Lauren were going to leave, but she knew she had to get to class. As she collected all of her things, she hesitantly opened her door and made her way into the common room. She was surprised to see Lauren sitting on the couch, all dressed up in a professional-looking, knee-length black skirt with a black V-neck sweater. Her hair was brushed straight, parted to the side, and held with a black barrette. There were two satchels sitting next to her on the couch. She was reading until she heard the motion behind her. "Oh, good morning, Lily."

Lily stopped. "Morning, Lauren. Are you two leaving early?"

Lauren nodded and looked up at her. "We are meeting everyone just outside the Great Hall. James just went to get ready."

Something about Lauren immediately struck her, now that she was seeing her up close for the first time. "You have James' eyes."

Lauren smiled sadly. "Yeah... Not many people notice. Both his mother and mine had hazel eyes."

Lily nodded. "Like I told James yesterday, this shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry for your loss."

Lauren sighed. "I'm slowly getting used to it. James has been great."

Lily glanced at James' door with a small frown. "He's not the guy I thought he was."

Lauren was watching Lily thoughtfully. She never thought she'd see the day, but she could have sworn she saw a spark of interest in James Potter from Lily Evans. This new information made her a little happier and encouraged her to find out for sure. Living with two of the biggest pranksters in the world made her a little more upfront than most. "You do know he's practically in love with you, right?"

Lily blushed brilliantly all across her face at Lauren's question. "No, he's not. Umm, I better get to breakfast and what not. Can't be late."

Lauren watched Lily literally run from the room to get away from her. She smiled wickedly. Oh yeah, she was beginning to like James. Now, the question was how she was going to get them together. Actually, it would probably just happen naturally. Regardless of what had happened to James' parents, she knew he liked Lily and would eventually ask her out again. Hopefully, the girl would have the courage to finally say yes. If she didn't, then Lauren would step in. She was interrupted from her thoughts when James walked out of his room in black dress pants, a black button down shirt, and a black tie. He was carrying two black robes, and looking at her with a playful smile, although it didn't reach his eyes just yet. "Forget something, sis? You should know you would be hexed at a pure-blood function if you showed up without your robe."

Lauren shrugged sheepishly, but took her robe from him. "I look nicer without it."

James rolled his eyes and grabbed both of their satchels. "Whatever, come on. We don't want to be late."

They walked out of the Heads' Dorm and made their way towards the Great Hall. Lauren smiled. She could always play with the both of them for a while. "Lily left just before us."

James merely nodded absently, but made no effort to ask about her. Lauren frowned. Did James not like her anymore or something? Well, being upfront with Lily got a reaction; perhaps James needed the same treatment. "She mentioned we have the same eyes."

That got his attention. "She did?"

Lauren nodded and tried to hide her smile about how cute he sounded when he asked that question. His voice seemed a bit higher than usual. Oh yeah, he still liked her. "She did."

James was quiet after that, but it didn't matter. They were almost to the Great Hall and the hallway was lined with about thirty others all dressed in black. Professor Dumbledore motioned for them to come over so they made their way in front of him. James nodded at him. "Morning, Sir."

Dumbledore gave them both a sad smile. "Good morning. Now, I have created portkeys for everyone. You two will take the one with Sirius. It will take you to your room at Potter Manor, James. The others will be arriving at their respective houses. All of the guests will arrive about an hour from now, and then everything can begin. The order of events is the usual mingling, the toasts, and the formal proceedings outside in the Potter crypt. Tomorrow, the four of us will finish any other legal matters with the Ministry and with the Potter estate. Alright?"

James and Lauren nodded. He grabbed her hand and led her over to Sirius, who was holding a quill. "Good morning, Prongs. Good morning, Lovely Lauren."

Lauren smacked him. "Watch it, Black."

James snickered. "Grab the portkey, Lauren. Dumbledore is counting down."

And just like that, the pure-blood funeral was about to begin.

Lily, after running from the Heads' Dorm and away from Lauren, made her way down to the Great Hall. She passed a bunch of people dressed in black waiting out front. Most were Slytherins who eyed her disdainfully as she passed, although she did recognize Frank and Alice standing off to the side with a couple of others who looked rather nice. She was surprised to notice that all the students present were seventh years, with the exception of Narcissa and Regulus Black who were fifth years. She supposed it was also customary that only 'of age' pure-blood wizards and witches were to attend. Of course, the Blacks were an exception, requiring the whole family to be present. She quickly ducked inside and sat over by Christina. "You're running late today, aren't you Lily?"

Lily shrugged. "Just a bit."

She grabbed some food and ate quickly. About ten minutes later, she and Christina found themselves in Herbology. However, Lily was surprised to see both Remus and Peter in class. "Remus, Peter, wouldn't you two be going to the funeral today?"

Remus looked up in surprise when Lily and Christina sat across from them, but frowned at her question. "James told us we wouldn't be welcome. I'm a half-blood. So is Peter. We were both with him all day yesterday so it's alright."

Lily watched Peter simply nod at Remus' words, but Lily's mouth dropped open. "So you're saying that regardless of who the Potters know or associate with, the only people welcome at their funeral are those that have pure-blood? Not even if you would be there merely to support James?"

Remus, Peter, and Christina all looked at one another and shrugged. Remus responded, "Pretty much."

Lily was again appalled at this whole system. "That's ridiculous."

Christina sighed. "Lily, you know James wouldn't have it this way if he could. I bet it will be different when our generation is the adults of our society. It's already sort of a dying tradition. The Potters were just very prominent within the Ministry, making it more of an obligation."

Remus nodded. "She's right."

That was basically all she could get out of them before class started. Class that day was boring. They had to work in pairs and go find particularly helpful potion ingredients in the garden and just outside of the Forbidden Forest. It seemed to be a pointless exercise. The rest of the day was no better. That afternoon, she had Transfiguration and Ancient Runes. Both were also boring, although she felt she took excellent notes. In Transfiguration, she felt completely lost. She was thinking she might just have enough courage to let go of her pride and ask James for some help. Ancient Runes was just extensive translating now that they were in seventh year, which was not exactly as interesting as it had been in previous years when the Professor included amazing stories of history into her lessons.

By the time she had finished with dinner, she just wanted to be left alone to do something more entertaining or something she liked to do. Once she got back to the Heads' Dorm, she sat in the common room, enjoying the quiet. She wrote lengthy letters to her family and to Shelley, something she hadn't had too much time to do over the past month or so. She was going to read one of her library books on old charms, when she noticed the Marauders' Map sitting amongst her stuff. She grabbed it curiously and placed it in front of her. She let her curiosity win in that moment and gently tapped her wand to it. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The Map instantly came into view. She was astounded at the magic used to create the Map, although she wasn't exactly happy they had created it for mischief and mayhem. She was sure James and Sirius were behind the creation. While Remus was very intelligent, she believed he was more book intelligent than creative intelligent, so if anything, he probably had a hand in finding the spells that were used for the project, but that was it. Peter, on the other hand, just didn't have the magical caliber to create something like this on his own. She flipped through it carefully and eventually, she had looked everywhere. There were a ton of secret passageways within the castle that she had never in her wildest dreams known about. There were a select few secret passageways leading out of the castle as well, and she now knew where the kitchens were, although she would never admit to anyone she hadn't known where they were in the first place. However, something struck her as odd. She hadn't seen Remus or Peter on the Map anywhere. From what she had gathered from James, the Map showed everyone. She tapped her wand on the map, "I demand that you show me the location of the Marauders."

Nothing happened. Maybe it required more personal verification. "I, Lily Evans, demand that you show me the location of the Marauders."

Suddenly, the Map cleared and writing appeared in its place.

_Mr. Prongs would like to congratulate the beautiful Ms. Evans for noticing the Map's defect when in the hands of a non-Marauder. Mr. Prongs knows that if anyone would have discovered it, Ms. Evans would. Mr. Prongs would also like to add that if Ms. Evans is in possession of the Map, it is most likely because Mr. Prongs had wanted her to feel safe and it was not intended for her to use to check up on the Marauders._

_Mr. Padfoot would just like to say that Mr. Prongs is completely wrapped around Ms. Evans' finger, and they are not even dating yet._

_Mr. Prongs would like to take this opportunity to call Mr. Padfoot a prat and a git._

_Mr. Moony agrees with Mr. Prong's first sentiments and would like to apologize to Ms. Evans for the stupidity of his friends and say that the Marauders are not always up to trouble so Ms. Evans shouldn't worry._

_Mr. Wormtail agrees with Mr. Moony and bids Ms. Evans a good day._

Lily's face was somewhat scandalized at what was written, but at the same time, she couldn't help but smile at the commentary and how they must have poured their personality into the Map. The Marauders really didn't seem so bad after all.

She eventually used the Map during her nightly patrol that night and the next, although it cut down on the need for her to patrol at all. She could tell usually halfway through her patrol that everyone was in their dorms where they were supposed to be. She continued her nightly walk anyway, just in case Professor McGonagall came out to check on her. The one thing that struck her as funny was the fact that Professor Dumbledore, although he had told her he wouldn't be in the castle at all for the two days, was in his office, at least while she was doing her patrols. She assumed he just hadn't wanted to be bothered if anything were to come up.

Most of her classmates returned sometime on Tuesday and slowly filtered back into their classes. James, Sirius, and Lauren returned late Tuesday night. Lily only knew this because she had heard James come into the Heads' common room when she was about to go to sleep in her room. She sighed. Hopefully, things would get back to normal and her brief stint about possibly liking James Potter would go away. It just wasn't something that was possible.

It had been two weeks— two incredibly long, tortuous weeks. If Lily had thought for a single second that she didn't like James Potter, it came back to bite her in the ass the first morning he had come back. They had both come out of their rooms at similar times so they had walked down to the Great Hall together. However, as soon as she had looked at him in his school robe, dress pants, white dress shirt, and tie, she somehow had no idea when they had made it to the Great Hall.

Not only was she constantly finding James more and more attractive (particularly after he arrived back from his many quidditch practices with his robes all stuck to him from working out), but all week she found herself watching James Potter and his mannerisms. She watched him doodle in class rather than take notes, noticed he had been really quiet for the past two weeks, and saw that he only seemed to smile occasionally— and even then, only when he was with the Marauders. The Marauders even played a few pranks, but James didn't look like he was enjoying it like he used to. She also discovered that if James Potter had been a female target before, it was nothing compared to what he had become now. Almost all of the girls in the school were talking about the now serious, withdrawn, and mysterious James Potter. Well, she had heard a lot of girls debating about it in the bathroom, and it was obvious to assume others were as well. She did admit that others may still have been talking about Sirius or the other guys too. James, as usual, took no notice of this. She remembered back when they had been in fourth and fifth year, he had seemed to like the attention and encouraged it, but after he had started asking her out on a more serious scale (everyday, multiple times a day) late in fifth year, he seemed to care less and less about other girls' attentions.

During their nightly patrols, which they had now begun doing together again, she seemed to babble incessantly about anything and everything. She couldn't seem to hold a normal conversation with him anymore. She was incredibly nervous around him; she noticed herself fidgeting a lot and playing with her hair more. If he noticed this, he never let on. He let her ramble all she wanted and would answer her if she ever asked him a question, but mostly he just listened to her attentively. It was interesting to other people to see them getting along. She would assume they could now be considered friends, but that wasn't what she wanted anymore. She would ask herself time and time again, why couldn't he have been the same guy she saw over the past two months a long time ago so she would have said yes to him before? And then, she would remember that she had been so blinded by noticing all of his faults that she had never looked closer to see all of his good attributes. It was all her fault they weren't together already.

To top it all off, he hadn't asked her out. Not once. There had been the second Hogsmeade weekend coming up, the weekend before Halloween, and he— James-'just-go-out-with-me- Evans'-Potter— never asked her. She was hoping to surprise him and say yes to him for once, but he just never asked. There was even a conversation the two of them had about Hogsmeade that she had specifically brought up, and he hadn't taken the opportunity she had given him to ask her. She wondered if he no longer liked her in that way. Knowing that she might have missed her chance with him made her feel incredibly depressed. So here she was in Hogsmeade with Christina, and James Potter had come with the Marauders.

Somewhere during the day, Christina had left her (actually, she practically begged her to be able to leave) to go off with a Hufflepuff boy by the name of Lee Rogers. He was a beater on the Hufflepuff team, pretty good looking, and wanted to spend time with her. Christina had been going crazy in her excitement. There was no way Lily would make her stay. Instead, she went off by herself, purchased a few things to replenish her potions ingredients, and eventually found an interesting book on difficult potions in the bookstore.

Lily wasn't sure she wanted to go back to Hogwarts just yet so she made her way towards the Shrieking Shack, where she could have some privacy to read her book. She pulled up the hood of her jacket over her red hair and slowly made her way up the rather desolate path. She had almost reached her destination when she heard commotion and activity near the Shrieking Shack. She was just going to push on until she heard Sirius' voice ring out, "Yo, Prongs, why didn't you ask Evans to Hogsmeade?"

Lily immediately stopped walking and hid behind a tree. That was information she wanted to know as well. She heard James sigh and respond, "We've been getting along now, and I didn't want to ruin it by asking her out and having her get mad at me again. I like her company."

Lily felt awful. She must've hurt him a lot each time she had ever said no to him. She heard Remus add, "Well, she seems to like you now for whatever reason. Maybe she's finally come around."

She glanced over and saw James shake his head, thoroughly disbelieving Remus. She was disappointed by him doubting her, but at the same time, she had never given him any reason to think she liked him before. "I don't know. I'm awful with reading girls' emotions. Lauren tells me all the time."

Sirius snickered. "That's because you told her to chill when it was her time of the month, you prat."

James smirked. "Well, she was freaking out unnecessarily that day."

The Marauders all laughed. Peter glanced over at Remus, curious, "When's our next field trip?"

Remus sighed and glared over at the Shrieking Shack with disdain. "Thursday."

Sirius nudged James. "You're coming this time, right? You missed the first because of Heads' duties during first week, and then the second time, you were in the hospital wing knocked out."

James nodded. "I'll let Lily know. I'm sure she won't mind doing patrol by herself for one evening."

Lily had no idea what they were talking about. She decided it was about time for her to leave or make her presence known. She was debating about which. Since they had just been talking about her, she didn't want them to know she had heard them talking about her, and she was far enough away to slip away unnoticed, she left. She immediately made her way back up to Hogwarts, feeling a bit sad. How was she going to get James to ask her out now? He obviously still liked her, but she seriously had no idea on how to go about flirting with him so he would feel comfortable enough to ask her out again. She also wasn't sure she had the courage to ask him out herself; not to mention it would appear a little out of nowhere, seeing as she had never liked him that way before. As experience goes, she only had one summer fling back home about a year ago to go by. All the two of them had done was snog a whole lot, and even then, he had been the one to come on to her to begin with. She sighed. It was hopeless.


	5. Chapter 5

1Chapter 5 – Finally

James had no idea what was going on with Lily that week. After Hogsmeade, he had noticed that while she still rambled a whole lot, she just didn't seem to be as happy. When he had mentioned to her about going somewhere with the Marauders on Thursday night and asked if she would be ok to patrol by herself that night, she didn't even look fazed and said she wouldn't mind. He had been expecting to have to give her a good reason, but she surprised him by not caring either way.

After that moment, he began watching her more closely, not that he didn't always watch her already. He quickly noticed that she rarely smiled anymore, and she looked rather depressed about something. Most of her magic was still on point, although he found that she still hadn't gotten the hang of Transfiguration or some of the Herbology stuff. Well, no one really understood Herbology, but still.

On Thursday, he handed her the Marauders' Map while she was reading quietly on the couch, and he was actually rewarded with the tiniest of smiles. "Thanks."

James nodded, his own grin appearing at seeing her first smile in days. "I don't know what time I'll be back so I guess I'll see you later."

She just waved at him as he left. James pulled out his invisibility cloak from his pocket and kept it handy. He didn't think he would need it yet, as it was still early in the evening, but once he reached the guys, they would be putting it on. Sirius and Peter were waiting by a secret passage that would take them out of the castle and onto the grounds, but they were standing there like they were just talking. When James walked up, they threw on the cloak and made their way outside together. It was just beginning to get dark out so they knew Remus would already be in the Shrieking Shack. As they approached the Whomping Willow, Peter immediately transformed into a rat and ran up to push the knot on the side of the tree for them. James hid his invisibility cloak where he usually did, in a small hole near the entrance of the Whomping Willow, and they made their way quickly into the tunnel. They walked along and upon reaching the trapdoor to the Shrieking Shack, James magically unlocked it. James pulled his way up, as did Sirius, holding Peter in his rat form. James magically sealed the trapdoor once more and called out tentatively, "Moony?"

They barely heard his reply and hurried up the stairs. Remus looked worse for wear, as he rested tiredly on the rickety cot in the corner of the room. He was really pale, exhausted, and his breathing had slowed. He usually looked that way before a full moon. His blue eyes, now tinted with amber, instantly turned to them when they had arrived, but they darkened upon noticing James and Sirius still in their human forms. "You both better change. I don't know when it's gonna happen."

James and Sirius nodded and shifted into their animagi, a great white stag and a large black dog respectively. It wasn't long before Remus started to howl in pain as the painful transformation overcame him. The stag, the black dog, and the rat looked on sorrowfully, for they hated watching Remus go through the horrible change. All too soon, the werewolf, upon finishing his transformation, began howling and wanted to attack. The werewolf attacked James first so he lowered his antlers immediately. James noticed Sirius jump up on the werewolf to get him to back off. When the two of them had subdued him a bit, Sirius wagged his tail and led them to the door of the Shrieking Shack. Peter had made his way onto Sirius' back so James, Sirius, and the werewolf began romping through the Forbidden Forest.

James and Sirius were usually able to keep the werewolf under some semblance of control during their outings, but at one point during that night, James was watching in amusement as Sirius attempted to climb a tree as a dog and the werewolf suddenly attacked him, leaving a large, paw print-like gash on his back. Sirius immediately reacted when he head the stag's strangled cry. James backed a way for a minute, but then used his antlers to help control the werewolf. When the werewolf finally backed off, Sirius immediately looked over at James, probably to ask if they should go back, but James pushed forward.

It was near the early morning when the full moon started to set. The Marauders eventually guided the werewolf back to the Shrieking Shack before he turned back into Remus. When the three of them had watched the werewolf begin to lie off in the corner, they made their way down the stairs. Sirius changed back cautiously while the other two remained animals just in case the werewolf decided to descend because he could smell Sirius. He magically unlocked the door and jumped through, followed by a human James and Peter. Sirius and Peter started through the tunnel quickly as James magically locked the trapdoor once more. They hurried on their way, knowing that Madam Pomfrey would soon come to collect Remus. James grabbed the invisibility cloak and wrapped it around the three of them, and they made their way up to the castle. He dropped them off at the Gryffindor portrait first before heading to the Heads' Dorm.

When he made his way inside, he instantly tried to be quiet. Lying on the far right armchair, sleeping peacefully, was Lily Evans. He couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked when she slept. He walked over towards her hesitantly and carefully grabbed the book she had been reading out of her hands and placed it on the coffee table. He then conjured a blanket and placed it on her. She sighed in her sleep, but didn't wake up. James finally made his way to his own bed. They had class in the morning in about three hours. He immediately set a personal alarm charm for 8:30am, tore off his shirt, and just fell into his bed to sleep.

When Lily woke up the next morning, she was surprised to find herself in the armchair in the Heads' common room. She remembered reading the night before, but not falling asleep. She also did not remember grabbing a blanket either. Finally, she could discern the reason she had woken up in the first place. It was Sirius shouting outside the Heads' Dorm for his little Jamesie to wake up.

She walked over to the entry way, but didn't open it. She remembered what James had said about Sirius waking him up. "Sirius, what do you want? I'm not supposed to let you in here."

Sirius just laughed. "I need James. Tell him to get his sleepy ass out of bed, or I will come in there and do it for him."

Lily smirked and looked down at her watch. "Sirius, it's 7am. You guys were out late last night, and you want me to go wake him up?"

Sirius just sounded practically gleeful. "Yep!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Alright, just a second."

Lily made her way over to James' room. She had never been in there before, but she also didn't want to let Sirius inside the Heads' Dorm, as James had told her not to. She cautiously opened the door to his room and saw him sleeping with no shirt on. If that wasn't enough of a wake up call for her, he also had five deep gashes on his back that looked fresh. She covered her mouth with her hand. She slowly entered into his room and nudged him gently in the arm with her hand. "James? James, wake up."

He mumbled something incoherently before opening his eyes slowly and focusing on her. "Lily? What's going on? Is something wrong?"

Lily shook her head, biting her lip to keep from sighing at how adorable he looked as he struggled to wake up. "Other than Sirius banging on the sphinx gargoyle and shouting that you have to get up, nothing's wrong."

He grabbed his glasses before looking over at the clock and groaning. "That asshole."

Lily just smirked and tried not to look at his bare chest as he got up. It was obvious the boy worked out. She knew she must be blushing, but as long as James didn't comment on this, she could handle looking a little flushed. "Umm, by the way, did you know you have five deep gashes on your back?"

James looked at her like she was crazy for a minute, before frowning and remembering something. "Oh yeah, that. I can take care of that. Tell Sirius, I'll be ten minutes. You can let him in if you can handle him."

He immediately started grabbing stuff around his room so she got up to walk out. She closed his door and made her way over to the entry way to let Sirius in. Once the sphinx moved aside, Sirius took off towards James' room. When he was about ¾ of the way there, he was suddenly immobilized and was levitating to the couch. His eyes widened as he saw Lily with her wand on him. She released the immobilization when he was lying on the couch, and he immediately started moving and making furious comments. She didn't hesitate and jabbed her wand, silencing him. With her wand still on him, she began to speak, "No, you listen. James warned me about all your tricks you like to play. Now, you are not to enter either of our rooms. If you do, I will be forced to use whatever charm I see fit to detain you, and I will make sure it lasts for more than a few hours. Instead, you are going to sit here calmly waiting for James to get done showering and what not. He said he'll be about ten minutes. Got that?"

She eyed him and saw him gulp and quickly nod in agreement with wide eyes. She removed the silencing charm, and he moved as far away from her as possible on the couch. She plopped down on the armchair she had slept in and picked up the book she had been reading the night before, before adding irritably, "Thanks to you, I am up insanely early. You know, not all girls take forever to get ready."

Sirius just nodded mutely, almost afraid to answer her verbally. He picked up the ancient book on transfiguration that James had been reading and poured over it a bit. After a couple of minutes, James came out of his room dressed and ready to go, and Sirius flew up from the couch. "Can we go now, James? And quickly?"

James was immediately curious as to Sirius' odd behavior. He looked between Lily and Sirius, and he swore he saw Lily grin evilly while she was reading her book. "Sure."

Sirius simply nodded at his response and began shooing the both of them to the door, with his eyes on Lily. James suddenly started to laugh, and his eyes began to sparkle and look like he had just gotten the best present of his life. "Wait, Padfoot, are you SCARED of Lily?"

Sirius vehemently shook his head in the negative, but he still tried to push James toward the sphinx. Lily just arched her eyebrows at Sirius and asked sweetly, "What? Going so soon, Sirius?"

Sirius blanched. "That woman is evil, James. Absolutely evil!"

James was laughing so hard, tears were almost coming out. "Thanks, Lily. I'm not sure for what, but it must've been great."

Lily just smiled into her book. James was relieved to see her looking almost normal for once. "You're welcome. See you boys later."

Lily was going crazy inside. Ever since she had seen James without his shirt on, suddenly she began noticing that everything he wore fit him extremely well. Now, not only was she obsessing about his sweet personality and his companionship, but she liked his body a whole lot more too. It didn't help that she found herself paired with him all of the time. First, they lived together and did nightly patrol together. In Potions, they had walked in late together because they had been doing some Head duties so they were told to just pair up for the next couple of potion assignments that everyone else had already been paired up for. Dumbledore had asked them to help maintain order at the Halloween feast, and they both had been forced to stand together just outside the entrance to the Great Hall, making sure kids didn't get too rowdy with the candy as they left to go back to their dorms, although she had been happy to be with an almost hysterical James when all of the Slytherins were somehow charmed to sing and dance madly to a muggle song called 'Celebration' in the Great Hall that night.

There were times where she caught him eyeing her with interest, but she had no idea what to do about it. It felt like they were playing a game of cat and mouse, but no one was going after anyone. She sighed. Now, she was heading to the Heads' Dorm to hopefully get her studying done. However, as soon as she entered the Heads' common room, she wasn't sure how much studying she was going to be able to do. James was sitting in the far right armchair reading Herbology with his legs stretched out on the coffee table, wearing the usual Gryffindor uniform. That wouldn't have been too bad, except he had the sleeves of his white dress shirt rolled up to his elbows with the shirt un-tucked, his tie was pulled down slightly, his hair was a bit more disheveled than usual, and the whole reckless look on him was extremely hot. He glanced up as she entered, a tiny grin gracing his handsome features. "Hey, Lily."

She breathed out a soft reply, as that was all she could really say at the moment, "Hey."

Lily walked over to the table on the far right side of the room and plopped herself down in one of the two chairs. She picked that spot so she would be sitting behind the armchair James was sitting in and wouldn't be able to see him clearly, if at all. However, James sat up, turned, and looked over at her from the top of the armchair, a bit concerned. "Are you alright? You look a little…frazzled."

Lily shook her head and forced a smile to show him everything was just fine. God, he was even being sweet too. He had no idea how sexy he could be. And did he have to tilt his head like that? "I'm fine, just lots to do."

He nodded a bit, looking her over carefully before getting comfortable again in the armchair. Lily sighed and sat down, pulling out all of her books. She was just about to start doing her Transfiguration homework when she saw James cautiously approaching the table with his Herbology book, parchment, and a quill. She had been so focused that she hadn't heard him get up. She froze slightly when he spoke to her, "Umm, you don't mind, do you? I can't write this essay over there; it's easier on the table. I was almost done reading and outlining when you came in…"

Of course, she minded. She wouldn't be able to learn a thing now, especially in Transfiguration. "Umm, no. Go ahead."

He sat down next to her and didn't hesitate in starting his Herbology essay. She noticed his Herbology book had quill marks at certain spots of the text, probably stuff he was planning on using in the essay. She had done that essay yesterday, and it hadn't been too bad. She tried focusing on Transfiguration, as she had to do an essay to determine what she was doing wrong with the 'mutatio' spell. About half the class had to do this essay, and she was one of them. She had no idea what she was doing wrong so needless to say, it was going to take a while. On top of that spell, they had continued learning more complex transfiguration spells she was nowhere near ready to even try. She thought about asking James, but he was busy at the moment; not to mention, she was trying to avoid him so she wouldn't focus on how much she liked him. When she glanced at him again out of the corner of her eye, she noticed he had already written about a third of his essay.

When James heard her sigh for a fourth time at her reading, he looked over at her, once again concerned. "Are you sure you're ok?"

She looked up at him, and she almost looked sad, although he didn't know why she would be. Lily just tried to think of anything to take her mind off of James sitting next to her. "Ok, it's Transfiguration. I have to do that essay, and I still don't know what I'm doing wrong. The reading doesn't help at all."

James smiled. This was at least something he could help her with. "Well, you have the best tutor at your disposal. Let me see you do the spell. Use the coffee table or something."

She hesitantly got up and walked over to the coffee table. She was more than a little nervous to have James' eyes on her, but she waved her wand as required, stating clearly, "Mus Mutatio."

The coffee table shrunk into a slimy green looking thing. It wasn't pretty. James waved his wand, and the coffee table returned to normal. He was frowning as he looked at her. "Lily, have you ever studied wards before?"

Lily shook her head and looked at him curiously, "Not really. Just a few basic ones, why?"

James sighed. "It's your wand movement that's the problem. You see, with wards, you have to have highly intricate wand movements while saying the spells and incantations at specific moments. Transfiguration is similar, just less complicated. The wand movement for Transfiguration also has to be perfect, and the timing when you say the spell is also important. From here, it looked like you're not confident when you move your wand, probably because you don't like Transfiguration all that much. You need to have better control of your wand movement for the spell to execute correctly. Also, it looked like you're missing the slight upward flick before you bring your wand down. Like this."

Lily watched him move his wand carefully in front of him, and she noticed the slight upward flick he was talking about, although she had no idea how to do it like he did. She supposed if she had been listening carefully rather than staring at him a bit, she might have understood everything better. "Uhh, right."

She gave it a try again, this time with an upward flick of some kind, and the coffee table turned into a slug. She frowned. "At least it's an animal."

James laughed at her cynicism, as he waved his wand to restore the coffee table once more. "Here, let me show you a different way. It's still not exactly right."

She felt James come up to stand behind her, slightly to her right side. He reached out his right arm, stretching it along with hers, and grasped her hand as it grasped her wand. "Now, relax your arm and watch closely."

Lily could barely move, and if James had let go of her hand just then, it probably would have dropped at her sides from her being unable to hold it up. She could feel his breath in her hair and his presence right next to her. Her eyes focused as she felt James move her wand in a particular way. She noticed immediately what she had been doing wrong. Just as suddenly, James moved away from her. Lily frowned, both at him leaving and at knowing her mistake. "Oh. I get what you mean now."

James sat back down at the table. Being that close to Lily, close enough to smell the sweet scent of her hair, was too much for him. He watched as she now did the spell with the proper twirl, the slight upward flick, and the downward flick. The coffee table immediately became a mouse when she said the spell. He smiled as she looked delighted. "See? Now, try something bigger like a cat."

Lily nodded, returned the table back to normal, and did the spell again, but this time she said, "Cattus Mutatio."

The coffee table instantly became a cat. Lily smiled happily. "Yes! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

James smiled at her excitement and waved his wand to restore the coffee table for the last time. "You're welcome. Now, with all of the load of bull I mentioned regarding wards and such, you should be able to write the essay no problem. No reading involved."

Lily nodded, even though she could barely remember anything he had said about wards. "Right."

She sat back down next to him. Lily glanced over and noticed he appeared to be in better spirits after helping her and seeing her so happy. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. A few minutes went by with the two of them sitting and writing quietly next to each other. Lily kept looking over at him as she worked, and finally, she noticed he was almost done with his Herbology essay and would probably leave in a minute or so. She needed to find courage somewhere. She was a Gryffindor after all. She could do this. "Umm, James?"

He glanced up at her leisurely. "Hmm?"

He didn't have time to ask questions because suddenly Lily's lips were on his, making him feel sparks at the mere contact. He was surprised at first, but didn't hesitate to kiss her back or reach his hand into her hair. When they both pulled back a few seconds later, he looked at her curiously and found his voice, "What was that for?"

Lily blushed and looked anywhere but at him. "I, well— Ok, I like you. A lot."

James just grinned slowly. So was this the reason she had been acting all different for a while now? "Really?"

She was now not looking at him at all, but she nodded at his question. James couldn't stop grinning. "Hey, Evans?"

She looked back at him warily. "Yes?"

"Would you go out with me?"

She glared at him playfully, but he could tell she was happy by the sparkle in her eyes. "If you ask me nicely."

He tentatively grabbed her hand and kissed it before looking up at her, "Lily, would you do me the honor of going out with me?"

Lily slowly smiled at him. "Well, maybe."

James leapt back from her, and he looked mildly outraged. "_Maybe_!"

Lily laughed at him. "I'm just kidding. Yes, James, I would love to."

James grinned and leaned in closer to her. "May I kiss you again?"

When Lily nodded slowly, still smiling, he leaned over. This time they were both more prepared for it, and the kiss was far better than the first. He kissed her slowly and sweetly before eventually pulling away, almost unwillingly. "Damn. How am I going to concentrate on anything now?"

Lily merely nodded in agreement, feeling his plight. "Tell me about it. I can't remember a single thing you said about wards."

James looked over at her with a wicked grin, surprised yet incredibly amused by her words. "Well, I guess I'll have to help you again then, won't I?"

Lily rolled her eyes, although she was still smiling. "You have to finish your Herbology essay first. You're almost done anyway."

James nodded and turned back toward his Herbology essay somewhat grudgingly. They both were quiet as they continued to do their homework together, although if anyone would have walked in just then, they would have seen two very happy individuals, smiling like they hadn't smiled in a long time.


	6. Chapter 6

1Chapter 6 - Dating, Dragons, and Quidditch

James and Lily had decided the night before that they would keep their relationship quiet while in front of everyone else. They were both aware that they would likely be hot gossip for quite some time, and they shouldn't encourage the rumor mill too much. However, this still didn't stop James from grabbing her hand as they walked towards the Great Hall together. "What do you think is going to happen when we walk in holding hands?"

Lily shook her head, unsure of what would happen. "Besides utter shock? I have no idea."

James just laughed wickedly. "This is going to be fun."

Lily looked over at him with a small smile. He was definitely looking happier than she had seen him in a while. "Yes, I suppose it will be."

James glanced at her. She was looking especially pretty that day, with her hair pulled back out of her face with a barrette. "Have I told you how beautiful you look today?"

Lily blushed. "No, I suppose you haven't."

James smiled and leaned over to kiss her quickly before they walked into the Great Hall. "Well, you do."

As they walked inside hand in hand, everything seemed to stifle into silence. The only thing they heard was a loud clank. When Lily looked up, she noticed Professor McGonagall had dropped her fork and was staring at the two of them with wide eyes. Professor Dumbledore merely smiled at the two of them. James squeezed her hand and let go of it as they reached Christina. Lily sat down while James kept walking and sat next to the Marauders. Everyone started chattering incessantly after the two of them sat down. When Lily glanced up, Christina was staring at her open-mouthed. Lily felt she could play dumb and gave her friend a small, innocent smile. "What?"

Christina narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean what? What the hell was that about?"

Lily noticed a few other Gryffindor girls looking at her with more disdain than usual and knew they were probably eavesdropping on whatever she was about to say. She waved her wand at her side, silencing the air around her and Christina. "James and I are dating."

Christina looked completely taken aback. "Merlin! Did he feed you a love potion? I can go find Slughorn pronto. I swear I didn't think he was that good at Potions…"

Lily just laughed. "No, he didn't. I swear, I am doing this on my own accord."

Christina was looking her over. "Are you feeling alright? What brought on this change of heart? You haven't mentioned this to me at all! I bet you already sent Shelley a letter all about it."

Lily sighed to herself. She had in fact written Shelley about everything last night. "I don't know, but somewhere over the last two months, I have seen a very different James Potter that I happen to really like."

Christina was still dumbstruck. "I have no idea where this is coming from, but I guess I sort of notice you looking much happier today than you have been lately."

Lily nodded and glanced over at James, who must have been tight-lipped about the whole thing, even though he was smiling. She could infer this only from the rather put off look on Sirius' face. Remus was just smiling like he had known this would happen all along. Peter was just sitting there indifferent to the while situation. "I really like him. Look, he won't even say anything to the Marauders. How sweet is that?"

Christina was looking at her like she had grown three heads. "If you are going to be completely gross about this whole thing, I think I'm going to puke."

Lily just glared at her. "Hey! I wasn't like that with you when you were mooning over Lee!"

Christina groaned. "Oh yeah, I forgot."

Lily smirked. "Has he asked you out yet by the way? You two were so adorable in Hogsmeade."

Christina sighed. "No, but we have been talking a lot. I asked him to help me with Arithmancy later in the library, and he said he would be happy to."

Lily chuckled at her. "You don't need any help with Arithmancy."

Christina rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. I had to say _something_, didn't I?"

Lily was about to comment when Lauren suddenly sat down next to her grinning evilly. "I knew this was going to happen. I was practically waiting for it since the funeral. So, do tell."

Christina and Lily were both looking at her in surprise. Lily wasn't sure what to say. "Umm, it happened last night. We're dating now."

Lauren's eyes lit up, but as she glanced over at James, she noticed he was now looking at her warily. "Yea! I'm so happy for the two of you. I better go though. James wouldn't want me dishing to you about all of his faults, although I believe you are well aware of most of them. The one you should be most concerned with, as it can be quite annoying, is his never-ending patience. The boy will take everything that happens to him for quite some time, and you will be just waiting and waiting for him to fight against whatever is troubling him, but then, suddenly when there is only the slightest provocation, when you least expect it, BOOM! He explodes like a ticking bomb. It isn't pretty. He's scary when he's angry. I've only been there once, and it was enough. See you later, girls."

As she watched Lauren get up and walk away, Lily thought about what she had just said and immediately thought back to what happened when James had exploded at her in the Heads' common room. He had been patient with her and everything else for a whole month, but then after being already angry about quidditch, he had laced into her when she had provoked him. She would definitely keep that information in the back of her head so there would never be a repeat performance. Christina didn't think about it too much. "That girl reminds me of a combination of Sirius and James. She's like one of those silent attack types. You know what I mean?"

Lily smiled to herself, knowing that Lauren actually lived with Sirius and James, who were practically her older brothers. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

She snuck another glance at James, who she noticed was looking over at her. He gave her a smile and a wink before turning back to the Marauders. Lily sighed and looked back over at Christina. Christina just rolled her eyes. "You two are going to be so disgusting; I can just tell."

Lily laughed. "Shut up! Come on. We have to go to DADA."

They made their way into class and sat where they usually did. The Marauders came in a few minutes after them. Professor Carroll didn't hesitate to begin class. He was a new professor, rather young, and didn't really know what he should be doing all that well. Lily knew Dumbledore must have a hell of a time finding a new DADA professor practically every year. For first through fourth year, they had had the same DADA professor. Mysteriously every year after that, there had always been a new professor. It was odd how all of the new professors wound up with an excuse to only teach a single year.

It was a boring class. Professor Carroll was lecturing about nocturnal beasts, including Vampires and Werewolves. Lily was attempting to pay attention, but Christina kept saying incredibly funny comments about garlic affecting Vampires, Werewolves in tights, and Professor Carroll doing some sort of mating ritual jig with the Werewolves. Lily couldn't help giggling quietly to herself as she listened to her. She kept hitting Christina on her arm and telling her to stop it. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed James looking at her every so often with a smile on his face. He would divide his time between looking at his notes and at her.

When class was over, Lily noticed James waiting for her after class. She walked up to him slowly, noticing that others were watching the pair with interest. He merely nodded at her with a smile and handed her a folded piece of parchment. "I'll see you later, Lily."

She smiled at him as he left. Christina glanced over at her. "What's that?"

Lily shook her head. "I'm not sure."

They made their way over to Arithmancy. Christina took a deep breath, found her Gryffindor courage, and sat next to Lee Rogers. Lily smirked and sat over to the side by herself. She immediately opened the parchment, expecting a note, but was surprised by what she saw. It was a drawing— a very, very good drawing— of her laughing like she had been in the last class. In the bottom right corner were the words, 'It's good to see you smiling again. JP.' Lily was touched by the gesture. He really was incredibly sweet. It was hard to concentrate on Arithmancy after that.

When she made her way to lunch, she noticed the Marauders were already seated at the table. She immediately sat down next to James. He was surprised, but happy nonetheless. "Hey! Where's Christina?"

Lily shrugged. "She's mooning over Lee Rogers. I thought I would come over here. Thanks for the drawing by the way. It was beautiful."

James just nodded and ran his fingers through her hair. "You're beautiful."

Just then, Sirius gagged at how annoyingly cute they were being. Lily glared over at him. "Black, do I need to remind you again of what I'm capable of doing with my wand?"

James, Remus, and Peter all began laughing as Sirius paled and shook his head rather quickly. James was still finding Sirius' fear of Lily rather amusing. "Soooo, what exactly did you tell him, Lily?"

Lily smirked. "Let's just say he shouldn't be bothering either of us anytime soon, isn't that right, Black?"

Sirius merely nodded and ate his food quietly. Remus was beside himself as he laughed. "James, when you had said what happened, I had no idea that she had _this_ much control over him. This is great."

Lily just laughed. "Come on, boys. Eat already. We have to get to Care of Magical Creatures soon."

A lot of people stared at James and Lily as they walked through the halls to get outside holding hands. Remus was with them, but he acted like he didn't notice. The three of them made their way outside chatting quietly and eventually reached the rest of the class who were all sitting around an open area near the Forbidden Forest. Professor Kettleborn kept droning on and on about dragons, as they were now beginning an extensive dragons unit over the next few weeks. Professor Kettleborn was hoping to have a few dragon specialists come in and talk with them as well as maybe bring a real dragon to the premises for the sake of study. Lily thought the Professor was crazy. She turned to James and Remus. "Why didn't Sirius or Peter take this NEWT?"

Remus shrugged. "James took it with me so I wouldn't be by myself like I am in Ancient Runes. Peter just took the basics because, well, Peter isn't that good at a whole lot. Sirius couldn't be bothered. The only extra class he took was Divination with James."

Lily looked horrified at James. "You're getting a NEWT in Divination? That whole subject is ridiculous. What's wrong with you?"

James just laughed. "Well, Sirius and I are really good at making things up that can happen to us so it's basically an easy O. Besides, Sirius and I usually just plan a bunch of pranks during class." Lily watched his eyes widen. "Wait, I didn't tell you that."

Remus laughed. "Nice going, Prongs."

Lily just gave them both a look before rolling her eyes. "Honestly, what am I going to do about it? It's not like anything I say will stop the four of you anyway."

James looked surprised. "You're not mad?"

Lily shook her head. "At least your pranks this year don't involve injuring people for the fun of it. It's about time you all grew up and played pranks that were bigger, better, and well thought out rather than just doing it to humiliate someone."

Remus and James continued to stare at her in a rather stunned silence. Lily looked at them curiously. "What?"

James was shocked. "Umm, thanks I think."

Remus merely nodded, equally astonished. Lily rolled her eyes once more and sort of tried to pay attention to Professor Kettleborn. In reality, she was watching James. She noticed he had started to draw on his parchment using a different sort of quill rather than one to take notes. It looked like he was drawing the Norwegian Ridgeback, which Professor Kettleborn was currently discussing. "You really just draw in class all day?"

James smiled at her words, but kept his eyes on the parchment. "Yep. In this class, it's usually worth it though. Kettleborn likes to make us draw the animals for assignments."

She watched him for a few more minutes and was in awe of his skill. "You're really good at that you know."

James glanced up into her beautiful green eyes. "You're too nice."

Lily shook her head with a smile and turned back to her notes. "No, I'm not."

When class finally ended, James was smiling evilly as Professor Kettleborn did in fact assign them to draw the Norwegian Ridgeback for the next class. Lily and Remus started to head toward Ancient Runes while James told her that he and Sirius had extra lessons with Professor McGonagall. After another long hour and a half of translating, she and Remus made their way down to the Great Hall for dinner. Lily sat with Christina, who had told her that everyone had been talking about her and James all day, not like she didn't already know. When dinner was finally over, James made his way over to her, took her hand, and they made their way to the Heads' Dorm. As soon as they had walked through the wall into their small hallway, she was surprised, but not disappointed, as James immediately pulled her close to him and covered her lips with his. When he finally pulled away, both of them were slightly out of breath. "I have been wanting to do that all day."

Lily merely nodded. "Me too."

James left her to her own devices for the evening, as he had quidditch practice. Later, they did the nightly patrol together. It was interesting to Lily just how easy it had become to talk with James. Both of them were actually rather similar, except he liked quidditch more than she did. Both of them liked similar music, liked to read/study (although he preferred ancient magic and Transfiguration while she favored Charms and Potions), and were interested in eventually working for the Ministry. James wanted to go into the Auror program like his parents while Lily had been looking into becoming an Unspeakable doing research on experimental magic.

After that first day, the days after became rather similar. The other students continued to gossip about them, but it seemed to dwindle down during the week. One day, Lily and James had been walking along to one of their classes, and Christina had pulled her aside. "Lily, I just thought you should know that the other students are saying your relationship is a sham because the two of you haven't snogged in public. I know it's crass, but I just wanted you to know what was being said."

When she had relayed the message to James, he just laughed. "Well, Lily, if you would like to silence the rumors, we can do so at dinner if I have your permission."

Lily looked up at him and saw him grinning wickedly at her while his hazel eyes were sparkling mischievously. He was being so adorable in asking her if it would be ok. The one thing she had begun to notice about him was that he was a complete gentleman about everything in their relationship. "I suppose that would be more than ok."

He reached up their locked hands and kissed the back of hers, as they continued to class. That night at dinner, the whole Great Hall was once again stunned into silence when before she and James left the table, he leaned over and kissed her for a few seconds. She gave Sirius a look as he catcalled at them, seeing as he was sitting directly across from the two of them. He immediately stopped when he noticed Lily's look. After that moment, despite all of the angry and sad girls from most houses, nobody doubted that James and Lily were officially a couple.

After two and a half months into the school year, it was finally time for the first quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. James had already told Lily that he felt the match was a guaranteed win for Gryffindor, as he and the other two chasers worked better together than the Slytherin's team chasers and the Gryffindor seeker, Hailey Baker, was hands down the best seeker in the school. Since James had left early, Lily and Christina made their way to the pitch to get seats when it was just about time for the match.

Lily had always gone to the quidditch matches before, but she never felt as involved as she did for this year's season, seeing as she was now dating a really good quidditch player. She and Christina made their way over to sit with Lauren, Remus, and Peter. Lauren immediately said hello to the two girls and asked their opinions on some seventh year Ravenclaw bloke who she thought was interested in her because he had asked her to the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend. The boys just rolled their eyes. They had no idea how they ended up sitting with a bunch of girls.

The boys didn't have to wait long for something better to think about because just then the elected quidditch announcer, a sixth year Hufflepuff, Anthony Abbott, started talking, "Welcome to the first quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin!"

The whole stadium erupted in cheers. "Here comes the Slytherin team: Chasers Gibbon, Nott, and Jugson; Beaters Malfoy and Macnair; Keeper Rockwood; and Seeker Dolohov!"

The Slytherins all cheered as most of the rest of the stadium began to jeer. "And here's the Gryffindor team: Chasers Potter, Hoyt, and Murray; Beaters Black and Douglas; Keeper Owens; and Seeker Baker!"

The stadium erupted in cheers, and everyone could only mildly hear the jeers from the Slytherin side. The match soon started after all that. Lily struggled to keep up. "Potter immediately grabs the quaffle, then he passes to Hoyt, wait, Murray, Potter, Hoyt, Murray, Potter, Hoyt scores!"

The Gryffindors erupted in cheers. The game continued to be a lot like that. The passing between the three Gryffindor chasers was so fast, the announcer could barely keep up. At one point, Lily had seen Celia turn upside down and loop in an odd way only to drop the quaffle down to James who scored. The Slytherin chasers were extremely angry over how they were easily distracted by the maneuvering and because they could not keep up with the Gryffindor chasers. The Slytherin keeper was having a hell of a time blocking all of the attempted goals, which had been double the number of attempts that had been thrown at the Gryffindor keeper. Bludgers were narrowly missing all of the chasers.

"And the score is 110-40 in favor of Gryffindor. Ouch. That was a bludger from Black that knocked Gibbon. That looked like it hurt. Gibbon loses the quaffle to Murray who passes to Hoyt, Potter, Hoyt, Murray, Potter scores!"

The Gryffindor side was deafening. They were looking at basically a total shut-out for the match. "And Nott gets the quaffle, passes to Gibbon, who passes to Jugson. Jugson flies, but ooooh, nice save by Owens!"

The game had been going on for two hours, but still there had been no sign of the snitch. Lily watched as Hailey Baker consistently circled the pitch up really high above the game. Dolohov was similarly circling, but she felt that he was merely watching Hailey. The announcer brought Lily back to the game. "The score is now 240-90 in favor of Gryffindor. Murray with the quaffle, Potter, Hoyt, Potter, Murray, Hoyt, Potter, Hoyt scores! 250-90 Gryffindor!"

As all of the Gryffindor chasers immediately began flying quickly into defense, someone on the pitch shouted 'James!' James immediately looked up as Sirius said his name, but quickly realized it was too late. He was unable to get out of the way of the bludger being pelted at him, and it hit him directly in the chest. Everyone watched in horror as James was thrust into the wall of the stadium by the pressure of the hit, and he immediately began to tumble down to the ground from a good 50 feet in the air. James surprised everyone by falling only about 35 feet before getting control of his broom and flying off toward his teammates and getting back in play. Lily was horrified. "Is he even alright to continue playing?"

Remus just shook his head with a chuckle. "Knowing James, he's probably not alright, but he's going to pretend he is."

The only difference Lily could see was that James now held onto his broom a little differently than before. It looked like his ribs were bothering him, but he kept up the pace with his other chasers. Slytherin made a few more goals, but Gryffindor continued to score. Another hour had gone by, but that appeared to be all there was going to be of the match. "360-150 Gryffindor! Slytherins with the quaffle, wait, Baker sees the snitch!"

Everyone saw Hailey Baker go into a stupendous dive that looked extremely steep. Dolohov was having trouble with the dive so following Hailey became a problem. It didn't matter though because before Dolohov could do anything to stop her, Hailey grabbed the snitch about 20 feet from the ground as she pulled out of her dive. "150 points to Gryffindor and Hailey Baker! Gryffindor wins, 510-150!"

The Slytherins looked mighty pissed off as the rest of the stadium erupted into deafening cheers. When the Gryffindor players landed, they were swarmed by the rest of the Gryffindors. Everyone was talking and cheering animatedly. Sirius was shouting about a party in the Gryffindor common room. James immediately pulled back and made his way over to Lily. Lily smiled when she saw him come over. "Great game, superstar."

James smiled slightly and leaned down to give her a kiss. Lily noticed him wince a bit as he pulled away so she immediately became concerned. "You should go to the infirmary. That hit looked nasty."

James shook his head in protest. "No, I'm fine. My chest is just a little sore."

Lily rolled her eyes and began dragging him away towards Madam Pomfrey. "Right, James. Come on, we'll get you fixed up, and then we can head over to the Gryffindor common room."

James began smiling at her as she dragged him along. She cared about his well-being and was being adorable. "If you insist, my fair maiden."

Lily turned back towards him with a silly smile. "Shut it, Potter."

They eventually made their way over to Madam Pomfrey, who had just finished talking with Professor McGonagall. "Madam Pomfrey, can you take a look at Mr. Big Shot over here? He says he's fine, but I know he's lying."

James rolled his eyes. "We haven't even been dating that long, and already, she knows when I'm lying."

Lily gave him a look before she smirked at him. "I knew when you were lying before too, Potter. You're an open book, to me at least."

Madam Pomfrey ran her wand over his chest and frowned. "Well, Lily's completely right, I'm afraid. Four broken ribs Mr. Potter, two of them shattered. I'm going to have to grow those two back after I make the shattered pieces disappear. Looks like you'll be staying in the infirmary overnight. Come on."

James suddenly looked disgusted and tried to pull away from Lily and Madam Pomfrey, as they began leading him toward the infirmary. "No! Not the Skele-Gro! That stuff is _nasty_!"

James eventually found himself lying down on a hospital bed with Madam Pomfrey waving her wand over him as Lily sat on his other side waiting for her to finish. "Alright, James, I've mended the two broken ribs, and I was able to get all of the loose pieces from the other two ribs. Now, you are going to have to drink this, but this is especially important, you must not move all that much, if at all, and you are not to speak too much either because both actions will interfere with the regrowth. The two ribs that were shattered were near your diaphragm. Now, I'll give you a little bit with Lily, but I think it best I place you in dreamless sleep to ensure you don't move around or talk at all while the Skele-Gro takes affect."

James looked extremely pissed off. "I'm going to kill Malfoy."

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Now, now, Mr. Potter. You or your friends will _not_ go attacking Mr. Malfoy, or I will have a word with the Headmaster. This accident happened during a quidditch match. There is no proof that this was deliberate. You are not to exert yourself for the next week or so either."

Lily watched Madam Pomfrey force James to drink the Skele-Gro before she walked off. Lily laughed at the disgusted look on James' face. "I'm glad I've never needed to drink that stuff. You know, she's right about Malfoy, James. This isn't so bad. It could be much worse. You could be stuck in here for another week, not just overnight."

James sighed. "Yeah, I know. Will you let everyone know where I am?"

Lily knew that by everyone, he merely meant the Marauders and Lauren. "Of course."

James watched her as she sat down in a chair next to him and curled her legs underneath her. "Aren't you going to go?"

Lily shook her head. "Not until Madam Pomfrey gets back. Besides, Lauren will probably attack me with more questions about that Ravenclaw bloke."

James narrowed his eyes. "What Ravenclaw bloke?"

Lily chuckled at him. "Leave her alone, and quit being her big brother. She was asked to Hogsmeade by him. His name evades me."

James matched her evil grin with one of his own. "I just bet it does. I'll find out from Lauren anyway. She can't hide anything from me."

Lily sighed at him, concerned. "You shouldn't be talking so much, you know."

James nodded with a frown. "Alright. Then, tell me about your family or something. You know a lot about mine, but I don't know a lot about yours."

Lily considered his question. "Well, my parents are muggles, as you know. My Dad works at Oxford University as an English Professor so he is mainly an academic, probably where I got my interest in reading and academia from. My Mum took time off of work when my sister and I were little, but when I left for Hogwarts, she began working again as a Legal Secretary for a big law firm in London. She mainly answers phones, schedules appointments, and does research for the lawyers who help their clients stay out of jail, which is something like Azkaban, or so their clients don't have to pay out a lot of money to other people."

James frowned. "People actually help criminals in the muggle world?"

Lily sighed and nodded. "Unfortunately, yes."

"What about your sister?"

Lily frowned. "We don't get along anymore."

James was concerned. He had no idea why someone would not get along with Lily. She was so kind-hearted. "Why not?"

Lily looked over at him sadly. "She doesn't like it that I'm a witch. We used to get along when we were growing up. She's older than me by two years, but she's nothing like me. I was always the smart one, I liked running around outside playing muggle sports with the boys on my block, I have the pretty red hair not the faded blonde hair, and I'm the witch. I think she's somewhat jealous, but she treats me so awful that I hate going home now. We haven't spoken properly since I came here, other than bickering. She's absolutely rude and freaks out when I do magic. I got a few Ministry letters over the last six years for accidentally doing magic before I was seventeen because she has made me so upset."

James surprisingly looked like he understood her situation. "You should talk to Sirius. He and Regulus have a similar relationship, although they are both wizards."

Lily frowned. She remembered Regulus Black was a fifth year in Slytherin. She hadn't known Sirius and he were brothers, but had thought they were cousins like Sirius was with Bellatrix and Narcissa. "That's too bad."

James was surveying her slightly as she sat there quietly thinking about her sister. He thought he should change the subject so she didn't dwell on it. "Pets? Friends? What about things you do for fun at home?" He smiled to himself. "Besides reading, of course."

Lily rolled her eyes, but she smiled at him. "You like to read too, you know. I mainly help my Mum out at home, go shopping, and what not. I have a few muggle friends that I see, but they're not that close to me, seeing as I haven't told them about me being a witch or anything about my real life. It's not like I can just up and send an owl to deliver letters to them while I am here at school. That's not exactly normal in the muggle world, as you know. As for pets, my family has a German Shepherd named Thor. Are you familiar with muggle dogs?"

James shook his head and was looking at her curiously so Lily continued, "Well, a German Shepherd is pretty big, incredibly smart, and is best used as a guard dog. He went through a dog obedience school and is basically a fully trained attack dog. He won't be able to protect them much against most magic, but he makes them feel safer all the same."

James looked at her questioningly. "He's not always on guard, is he?"

Lily nodded. "Technically, yes, he is. He doesn't really like new people coming to the house, but if he is able to get their scent, he usually backs off once he finds out that whoever the new person is means no harm. He's incredibly fun and active most of the time. I like to go running with him or take him to the park when I'm at home. My sister, of course, despises him and moved out of the house a year ago to get away."

James smiled at her words. Just then, Madam Pomfrey walked back over to them. "Ok, that's it I'm afraid. The Skele-Gro is bound to start taking affect now. James, no more speaking, got it?"

James nodded sadly. Madam Pomfrey walked over to her cupboards and began sifting through her potions for dreamless sleep. Lily got up and leaned over to kiss James goodbye. "I'll come by in the morning."

He nodded at her and watched her walk away as she left. He could watch her walk away all day. He was suddenly incredibly happy that Hogwarts had school uniforms that required the girls to wear skirts more often than not. Madam Pomfrey interrupted his improper thoughts about his girlfriend. "Ok, Mr. Potter. Here you go."

James took the potion, and it was only seconds before he drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts lingering on his beautiful girlfriend.


	7. Chapter 7

1Chapter 7 - Homework, House Elves, and a Disappointment

James was out from the hospital wing the next morning with two mended ribs. Lily had met him just as he had been leaving. "Hey there, finally free?"

James nodded with a sigh. He was very happy to be out of the infirmary. It seemed as if he had been stuck there a lot over the last few months. "Yep."

Lily smiled at him as he wordlessly conjured her some lilies. "Trying to be suave this morning too?"

James smirked, but his hazel eyes were twinkling at her. "Something like that."

Lily reached up and gave him a quick kiss, but rolled her eyes playfully. "Come on, Mr. Charming. We both have lots of homework to do today. Professor Dumbledore wanted to meet with us later too."

As they walked toward the Heads' Dorm, James let Lily ramble on and on about what had gone on in the Gryffindor common room the night before at the party for their spectacular defeat over Slytherin. Everyone had been disappointed that he couldn't be there, but there were two other matches to come. Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Lauren were all going to stop by and check on him at some point in the evening, but Lily had told them that he would be sleeping the whole time and to come see him sometime today. When she started rambling about homework throughout the next week and next weekend, he finally interrupted her, "Isn't that a Hogsmeade weekend? I thought you would like to come with me?"

Lily looked up at his lost and saddened expression, but she smiled at how cute he looked. "I meant after Hogsmeade, you prat. Of course, I would love to go with you. Besides, I wanted to start my Christmas shopping."

James nodded, somewhat relieved. He had wanted to take her out on an official date of some kind. "Me too. I always have the hardest time finding something for Lauren. She's not a girly girl, but not quite a tomboy either. You know what I mean?"

Lily laughed. "Yes, I do. I'm sure you'll come up with something though. If not, I can probably help you."

James pulled out his wand and tapped the wall in the sixth floor corridor and waited until Lily had walked through before following. Lily told the sphinx gargoyle the password, and both of them made their way inside. James watched as she conjured a vase with some water and set her lilies on the table before plopping down next to him on the couch. "So what would you like to do first?"

James suddenly grinned at her opening. "This."

Lily wasn't exactly surprised when James leaned over and began to snog her senseless. The boy could really kiss so she had no qualms with letting him continue. She felt one of his hands slide behind her neck into her hair and his other snake around her back to pull her closer to him. She loved feeling his arms around her. There was just something about being in his arms that she liked so she made a mental note to begin hugging him more often. Her hands slid up his chest and found their way around his neck. She pulled back eventually. "Good morning."

He chuckled into her neck, and she felt him quickly kiss it before pulling back. "Good morning to you too. So Charms?"

Lily smiled back at him flirtatiously. "At least I won't have to pay attention that well to understand _that_ subject."

James laughed at how adorable she was. They both went through Charms, DADA, and James helped her with Transfiguration. It had only taken them about two hours. Lily was griping because now James was finished with all of his homework, and she still had to finish Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. "This is so not fair. I wish I could be done too. Why did I have to take so many classes?"

James just pulled her back to him so she was facing away from him. She was about to protest until she felt his hands begin massaging her shoulders and her back. "Relax, Lils. You and I both know it won't take you that long to finish. Now, what time were we supposed to meet with Dumbledore?"

Lily groaned inwardly as his strong hands massaged her tense muscles. She could barely respond to his question, "Umm…after lunch."

James continued his actions for a few minutes before wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing the side of her neck that he had exposed when he had moved her hair aside to rub her shoulders. "Now, you finish Ancient Runes, and I am going to read my ancient transfiguration book. We'll go to lunch, and then meet with Dumbledore. We can do whatever you want this afternoon, although I should probably go see the guys sometime today too. You can finish Arithmancy anytime. I know you're really good at it. Ok?"

Lily nodded, again enjoying his arms around her. She was impressed at how he calmed her down too. She also liked it a lot. "Yeah. Thanks."

James pulled away from her a little bit to grab his book before getting comfortable on the couch. He pulled Lily close to him again so she was practically leaning on him, but she didn't mind. Lily got comfortable and began translating. The only noise she heard while they worked was James turning his pages and her quill running across the parchment for her extensive translation. Every once in a while, she would feel James' free hand rub her back or play with her hair. She would smile into her homework whenever he did something like that. It made her content to know that regardless of what James was doing, he was thinking of her, especially because she was similarly thinking of him. A little while into their comfortable silence, the sphinx suddenly slid open, and Lauren walked in knocking on the wall next to her with a hand over her eyes. "Is it safe to come in?"

Lily blushed a bit into her homework, but James just laughed. "Lauren, Lily and I aren't sexing it up in any way yet. You know I'm nothing like Sirius, the playwizard. I'm much more of a gentleman than that."

Lauren smirked and when she lowered her hand, her eyes were sparkling with mischief. "I was just teasing you, Jimmy." She noticed the way the two of them were sitting, all comfortable with each other, with Lily basically an inch away from being on James' lap. "You two lovebirds know you are almost too sickeningly sweet for words, don't you?"

Lily laughed. "You should give him a break, you know. And we are not that sickeningly sweet."

James nodded in the affirmative. "Nope. I've seen way worse. Speaking of sickeningly sweet though, my dear Lauren, tell me about this mysterious Ravenclaw bloke of yours."

Lauren's eyes widened, and she looked dismayed. "Lily, you _told_ him! Now he's going to do something to ruin it! The boy will be screaming, crying, or be covered in purple goo, and needless to say, he'll never ask me out again!"

Lily shook her head slightly with a sly smile. "Don't worry. James has no idea who it is quite yet."

James just smiled evilly, looking alternately between the two girls. "No, but I will."

Lauren glared at him. "You are not going to do a thing, or I'll tell Lily all about the time you and Sirius found—"

James just waved his hand dismissively at her, cutting her off before she could go any further. He really wasn't that concerned because even though he had no idea what story she was planning on telling, he was positive she had nothing on him. Now Sirius was another story. He was sure he could count on two hands the number of stories Lauren could probably tell about him. "I wasn't going to do anything bad, Lauren. I just wanted to know who he was to see if he was good enough for you. If he wasn't, then maybe Sirius and I would come up with something appropriate for the poor bloke."

Lauren rolled her eyes as she stood menacingly with her hands on her hips. His innocent eyes had zero effect on her. "According to you two, _no one_ is good enough."

James smirked a bit, but considered her words. "Well, that _is_ true…"

Lily just laughed at the two of them. They were exactly like brother and sister. Seeing James act more naturally than he had since before his parents' deaths was also something to smile about. "James, lay off. I can tell you that the boy in question is very nice, smart, a gentleman from what I've seen, and is pretty good-looking. That's bound to be a good choice for Lauren."

James pouted at her. "You think another man is good-looking?"

Lily rolled her eyes at him. "Relax, I'm dating you, aren't I?"

James looked satisfied. "Yeah, I suppose you are. So Lauren, what really brings you to our neck of the woods this lovely morning?"

Lauren sighed and sat down on the closest armchair. "You have messages."

James was intrigued. "Oh, do tell."

Lauren looked bored and like she had no idea how she had been roped into doing this. Lily assumed that could only mean one person— Sirius. "Well, seeing as none of the guys have been able to get in here, not without extensive trying from what I've heard, and going to see you in the hospital wing while you were out cold would accomplish nothing, Sirius would like me to tell you that he has come up with the prank of all pranks and needs his Transfiguration master to help with the plan. He says it is more your area of expertise, although I got nothing more out of him."

James nodded excitedly, and his arrogant prankster grin was now firmly in place. "Yes! I was looking forward to a good prank when he got all crazy on me yesterday before the match and willingly said he planned on researching something on his own."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Another prank?"

James turned to face her sadly, his body wilting and losing all of his previous excitement. She was surprised to gather from his eyes that he probably wouldn't do the prank without her permission and that he was dreading that possibility. "But Lily, you said if we planned out our pranks well and did not do them for the purposes of injuring or humiliating, you wouldn't mind!"

Lily was surprised and touched that he had taken what she had said to heart. There was no way she could stay mad at him for that. She also didn't want him to go changing who he was just for her. She could admit now that at least some of his well thought out pranks with the Marauders had been somewhat amusing. "Well, ok then."

James' eyes lit back up, and he quickly looked back to Lauren. Lily smiled at seeing him that happy. "Yes! What else?"

Lauren straightened herself up as she sat and became rather serious. "Dumbledore would like to speak with you."

James frowned. "Lily and I already knew about that. We're meeting him after lunch."

Lauren shook her head. "No, this is different. He wanted to meet with you personally about some, umm, family matters."

James noticed her glance sideways a bit at Lily so he thought he knew what this would be about, among other things. "Oh, ok. Did he say when?"

Lauren sighed. "I just saw him, and he said he was going to be in his office for most of the day. I imagine you can talk with him now before lunch, or after your Heads' meeting."

James nodded. "I should talk to him now." He wrapped his arms around Lily from behind once more and kissed her forehead quickly. "I'll come back in a bit to meet you for lunch."

Lily nodded and watched him leave. She missed having him so close. When she sighed, she heard Lauren chuckle at her from the armchair. That's when Lily realized that she had been watching the two of them quietly the whole time. "You really like him, don't you?"

When Lily nodded, Lauren continued, "Good because he really, really likes you."

Lily smiled into her homework so Lauren wouldn't be able to tell if she was blushing or not because she was sure she was. "I know."

Lauren smiled at her. "Well, I best be off. I told Sirius I would tell him what James said right away. One thing you probably already know is that Sirius does not have James' patience."

Lily smirked. "Oh, I definitely knew that. See you later, Lauren."

Lily watched Lauren leave and then finished up the last bit of her translation. She reluctantly began her work on Arithmancy since she didn't really have much else to do. About an hour later, James made his way back into the Heads' common room, frowning slightly. She was only slightly surprised at herself when seeing him that way made her want to do everything she could to change it. "Everything ok, James?"

James nodded, but sighed. "I just don't like thinking about them being gone. I think it'll hit me more when the holiday comes closer and they won't be around. I keep forgetting a few of the things I now have to take care of is all."

Lily was concerned. "Do you want to talk about it?"

James sat down next to her with a faraway look. "Well, I told you my family line is a closely held secret so I've had to tie up a couple of loose ends about that. I wish I could tell you about it, but I really shouldn't, at least yet. Also, my parents' wills were confirmed shortly after their deaths, leaving everything to me, although there were a few things that went elsewhere. Dumbledore has been helping me finalize everything with the Potter estate, since I don't understand all of it. Potter Manor and some other properties' paperwork just made it through the Ministry so now everything is in my name. I'm still waiting on a few other things from Gringotts and some other places though. I had to check in with the house elves too, and they were a bit upset with me because they weren't sure what to do so I had to give them a few orders today. I hate doing that. I told them to go have some fun; well, on top of a few other things."

Lily cracked a smile, not altogether surprised to learn the Potter family had house elves. "You told your house elves to go have some fun?"

James saw her smirk, and he couldn't help but smile at her. "Yes, I did. They work too much already. They didn't really appreciate it though; one of them, the head elf, told me in a scolding manner that she would feel disgraced if she wasn't cleaning, and I should be a better master."

Lily was surprised. "So what did you say?"

James laughed. "I told her that she should get extra days off."

Lily's eyes widened. "You did not! House elves, as long as they are treated nicely like your family obviously does, would find that to be punishment!"

James nodded and gave her a guilty smile. "I know, and the Potter family has never treated house elves badly, unlike people I wish not to mention, so I eventually worked out a compromise. There were still a few things I could find for them all to do, things I didn't really want to do or have the time to do, so I gave them a list. You know, stuff like going through most of my parents' things, keeping the Manor clean while it wasn't in use, checking out the other properties, etc. That should keep them busy for a while. When they need more work, they will seek me out."

Lily nodded. "Anything else?"

James' mood suddenly brightened, and he looked incredibly mischievous and excited. "I ran into Sirius. He let me know of his brilliant idea for a prank. It will be classic, ingenious, the prank of all pranks. I am so looking forward to this."

Lily was still a little concerned still about letting him go forward with this prank. She bit her lip before asking him worriedly, "Sirius came up with it all on his own? Are you sure it's not for the sake of humiliation or won't cause injury? This is _Sirius_ we're talking about."

James put up his hands in front of him, nodding furiously, obviously trying to reassure her. "I swear! If anything, consider it mere practice."

Lily was curious now. "Practice?"

James just smiled back at her rather mysteriously. "Yes, _practice_. I cannot elaborate further. You will definitely like it all the much more if you are surprised like everyone else. Just promise me once Sirius and I work out the many kinks through extensive research, you will be there. You will not want to miss this."

Lily couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm; not to mention, James was implying that they would need to research for the prank so they would be learning how to do something that they considered difficult. She nodded slowly, now only slightly apprehensive at the idea. "Ok, I promise. This better be good though."

The two of them eventually went down to the Great Hall for a late quick lunch before they made their way down the familiar path to Dumbledore's office. Lily soon found herself in front of his gargoyles and was about to say the password until James stopped her. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. He decided he was changing the password this afternoon. It's now 'Peppermint Sticks,' probably for the upcoming holiday."

As soon as James said the password, the gargoyles began to move. James led Lily up the steps and knocked on the door. When Dumbledore allowed them to enter, James surprised Lily by immediately dropping her hand as he walked up excitedly to the side of Dumbledore's desk. "Fawkes! You're finally here when I am."

Lily looked beyond James and finally saw a rather large scarlet and gold bird sitting serenely on a perch next to Dumbledore's desk. She remembered seeing the bird briefly the night Bellatrix and Lucius decided to cause trouble, but seeing him up close while she was more conscious and alert was a definite treat. The beautiful phoenix gave a pretty trill as James patted him. Dumbledore chuckled and winked over at Lily. "I believe he likes the attention of others more than he does from myself. Wonderful for you both to see him while he is in fit health."

Lily smiled and nodded, admiring the rather ornate bird. "He's beautiful."

James turned to her with a smile. "Fawkes is awesome. When I was little, he would sneak me downstairs for treats in the kitchen whenever Dumbledore was visiting my family."

Dumbledore laughed. "I wouldn't classify it as sneaking, James. I always knew there was something going on between the two of you."

James sighed. "Nothing gets by you, Sir."

Dumbledore then gestured for the two of them to sit, and while he was incredibly happy to see the two of them sitting comfortably together, holding hands like he had always known one day would occur, his face frowned a bit as he remembered what he had to tell them. "I'm afraid what I have to say for this meeting may not be as happy to discuss, but I am unable to get out of it and both of you are the best suited for the job so I ultimately must insist."

James and Lily's faces frowned as well, unsure of what Dumbledore was about to say, but both waited for him to continue. He sighed before adding, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for your attendance at an official school governors' luncheon to act as student representatives. It will be most boring, I can probably assure you, but as students, the governors are rather interested in meeting with you both to hear your views on how the school is being run, what changes the students are interested in, what the students like, etc. This is information that they cannot get from Professor McGonagall or myself."

James and Lily looked at each other slightly confused, and Lily answered what she thought was also on James' mind. "But Sir, that won't be so bad, right?"

Dumbledore sighed and looked down. "Well, the next luncheon happens to be scheduled for this coming Saturday."

James and Lily suddenly understood why Dumbledore had thought they both would be unhappy. It was the first Hogsmeade weekend the two of them could attend as a couple, and he had known the they had probably planned on going together, although he hadn't specified these concerns out loud. James sighed. "That's ok, Sir. Lily and I can go to the extra Hogsmeade weekend we scheduled for two weeks from now in the beginning of December. We will just have to plan out our Christmas gifts a bit beforehand so we can be sure to find them all during the one visit, or begin mail order, of course."

Lily nodded at his words, although she could hear and was also feeling his slight disappointment. However, maybe the luncheon wouldn't be so bad. At least the two of them would still be together. "So, what else would we have to know before we attend the luncheon?"

Dumbledore reluctantly began talking about the twelve school governors. He described a bit about who they each were, how each would probably make their way over to talk with each of them separately, what the current issues or topics being discussed had been over the last few meetings, and ultimately, what to expect in the proceedings. When he had finished his description, he suddenly eyed James carefully. "James, I must also ask you to find it in your heart to refrain from charming or transfiguring anything or anyone while attending the luncheon. I guarantee that you know more magic than most of the school governors so not only would the magic surprise them, but they would scold me by thinking it was somehow in the curriculum. However, you and I both know that is not the case."

Lily actually chuckled at the look on James' face. He looked deeply disappointed. She gave Dumbledore a smile, before responding, "Don't worry, Professor. I'll make sure he doesn't do anything out of the ordinary."

James looked up at Dumbledore curiously when he heard him begin to chuckle a little. "What is it?"

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling. "I'm glad someone has some semblance of control over you, James. Your mother tried for years, and I believe Lauren is still attempting to control both you and Sirius."

James rolled his eyes, but Lily could see a faint blush appear on his face. "Lily and I have reached an agreement about pranking, Sir." He then winked at Dumbledore. "By the way, I believe you'll most definitely enjoy the next one."

Dumbledore just looked amused. "Oh? Well, then I won't spoil the surprise by looking through your mind."

James looked up at him mischievously. "Sir, you've been teaching me Occlumency since I was thirteen. I'm well aware to protect myself when I'm around someone as omniscient as you."

Lily was watching the two of them silently, wondering the extent of their relationship because they were definitely revealing that they knew each other rather well outside of school. This confused her while it also opened a whirlwind of explanations. Looking back on most of the pranks James and the Marauders had ever committed, the pranks were never so invasive that they caused lengthy problems within the school. Also, whenever there had been injuries from James cursing students in the hallways, particularly during fourth and fifth year, she had been surprised to find out that James had rarely started any of them, but finished them instead. Even though his head was ten sizes too big at the time, he had still been acting with some sort of respect to Dumbledore. It could also explain how Dumbledore was aware of how James would act and why he may have picked him to be Head Boy. Dumbledore's voice eventually pulled her from her thoughts. "Well, it's about time the lessons yielded some results."

James merely nodded at him with a small smile. Dumbledore glanced back over at Lily. "Whatever your agreement is with James, I'm happy you made it. It will be most refreshing not to get a floo call every other day regarding an interesting charm or transfiguration that has been placed on Mr. Snape. I do not claim to be aware of every counter spell to what James and Sirius have been able to come up with, particularly lately as they are in seventh year and have become rather versed in complex magic."

Lily blushed a bit, but nodded. James just laughed. "We don't _always_ target Snape, Sir. We also like to give you a bit of a challenge."

Dumbledore just eyed him amusedly. "You are stretching the truth, my boy."

James looked like he was going to say something, but changed his mind. Instead, after only a brief pause, he conceded, "I suppose so."

Dumbledore was aware that Lily was watching the two of them curiously so he returned them to the meeting at hand, "Well, moving away from the Marauders' sense of humor, Professor McGonagall would like the two of you to prepare the list of all students wishing to remain at Hogwarts for the holidays as well. She figured the two of you would rather get it out of the way early, before mid-year exams and the excitement over the coming holiday begins."

James and Lily nodded. Dumbledore looked them both over. "Do either of you have any questions or anything to bring up?"

James shrugged while Lily answered, "No, Sir. Everything has been going rather well."

Dumbledore gave them a nod. "Ok then. Until we meet again. I again apologize about this coming weekend."

Lily was surprised when James laughed. "Don't worry. I already have an idea to make up for it."

Dumbledore just smiled and watched the two of them as they left his office. Lily was already avidly questioning him about this new idea while James was not giving her any indication about what it was about. He heard them going back and forth— not quite arguing, more like gentle griping to each other. It was actually exactly how the two of them used to act, but without any of the anger. He had known that the two of them would find their way to each other eventually, and he couldn't think of two people better suited for each other.


	8. Chapter 8

1Chapter 8 - The Luncheon

Throughout the next week, James had been driving Lily crazy, but in a good way. He had cut down on quidditch practices to twice a week until after the holidays, but he spent a lot of his free time with the Marauders in the library of all places. She didn't think she had ever seen him or Sirius so much in the library before; even the other students had been giving all of the Marauders odd looks. She had been amused by his incessant studying, especially since it was all for a prank. She did take the time to notice that most of the books he was researching with were about extremely advanced Transfiguration and surprisingly, Potions. This left her rather confused about whatever they were planning. She knew that none of the Marauders actually liked Potions. One evening, James had gone all weird on her and asked to borrow her book that she had bought about difficult potions which she had left lying out. She had been more than curious, but let him borrow it all the same. Lily had spent all of her extra time with Christina while he had been busy with the Marauders. James also had been mysteriously silent about his idea to make up for them not being able to go to Hogsmeade. She had tried to coax anything out of him about his plan, but had ultimately been unsuccessful. The only thing he had mentioned to her was that he had planned it for Sunday, the day after the luncheon.

Although both of them were rather busy, they always were able to make time for each other. She and James usually did most of their homework together where they not only did homework but also had more than a few snogging sessions. They still had their nightly patrols together too which were always fun because it was just the two of them. James always made sure she knew he was thinking about her. She had received a bunch of new drawings of her, Hogwarts, the Marauders, etc. over the last week as well.

It was now the morning of the luncheon, and Lily was attempting to translate for Ancient Runes on the couch in the Heads' common room. However, her efforts seemed to be in vain as James was sitting next to her, looking rather exasperated, and was loudly flipping through about five different books on advanced Transfiguration that he had taken out from the library. Lily glanced up at him amusedly. "James…are you ok?"

He was still agitated. "Not really. I'll be right back."

Lily watched him stalk off to his room with a sparkle in her eyes. She didn't think she had ever seen him so worked up before. She tried to continue translating Ancient Runes, but was distracted by the many noises coming from James' room. He had left the door ajar, and it sounded like he was throwing things as he searched for whatever it was he was looking for. He eventually came out of his room about twenty minutes later completely frustrated and empty-handed. As he plopped down on the couch with a heavy sigh, Lily giggled at him. "Just what exactly are you looking for?"

James looked over at her, still frustrated, but he smiled slightly at seeing her so amused by how irritated he must appear to be. "A book. A book that I know I have and have read, but I cannot seem to find anywhere."

Lily was about to say something when he suddenly sat up straighter as his eyes lit up. "I can't believe I forgot. It's probably at home. Reeny!"

Lily jumped when there was a loud cracking sound, and a house elf with big blue eyes suddenly appeared in front of James. She had on a cute little maid's uniform in colors of scarlet and gold with a tiny P symbol embroidered in the lower right corner of her dress. She looked confused. "Master James calls? What does Master need?"

Lily saw James frown at the house elf. "Reeny, I asked you and the other house elves not to call me Master. James will do just fine just like it had always been fine before."

Reeny looked affronted. "But James, yous is the Master of the house now. We shoulds call yous Master."

James sighed, and Lily could see his eyes sadden. "I know. Still, just James will be fine."

Reeny finally seemed to realize Lily was in the room. She jumped in surprise and curtsied to her with wide eyes. Lily looked concerned immediately. "Oh, you don't have to do that."

James laughed at Lily's surprised expression and her comment. "Reeny, this is Lily. Lily, this is Reeny, my head house elf. Reeny, you don't have to act any different around Lily, ok? She's like Sirius or Lauren."

Reeny nodded, but she still watched Lily curiously. She began playing with one of her ears. "What does Mas— James need?"

James sighed as he remembered what he had been so concerned about. "I am looking for one of my books, but it's not here so I must've left it at home. I was wondering if you or one of the other house elves might have found it in the library or something. It's called 'Transfiguration and Its Manipulations.' Do you know it?"

Reeny nodded happily. "Reeny has seen it, Sir. Yous left it in the library. Oscar placed it on the cart with all of the frequented books."

James leaned back in his seat, absolutely delighted. "Yes! Could you bring it to me please?"

Reeny nodded happily, and with a snap of her fingers, she disappeared. Lily looked over at James curiously. "Are all house elves that needy?"

James laughed a bit. "Somewhat, yeah, but they're actually just being how they are naturally— extremely nice."

He was about to add more, but the cracking sound pulled his attention away. Reeny appeared with the book James had wanted. "Here the book is, James."

James looked positively thrilled as he took it from her tiny hands. "Yes! Thank you, Reeny! Let me know if you need anything at the house, ok?"

Reeny nodded, pleased that she had made her Master happy, and with another snap of her fingers, she was gone.

James immediately sifted through the book, stopping when he reached a certain chapter. "Yes! It's here. I knew I would find it."

Lily smiled at him. She loved the look in his eyes when he was incredibly happy. "What did you find?"

James suddenly stopped smiling and quickly closed the book. "Umm, nothing…absolutely nothing."

Lily laughed at him and his obvious attempt at trying to hide information from her. "Whatever, James. It's about the prank, isn't it?"

James grudgingly nodded, although he was eyeing her warily. "Yes, but you're not getting any more out of me than that."

Lily watched him with amusement as she slowly put her arms around his neck and began creeping closer and closer to him. She dropped her voice a bit as she whispered seductively, "Are you sure I couldn't _persuade_ you to tell me?"

James looked frightened. "You know, I'm beginning to think Sirius is justified in being afraid of you. I think I would tell you just about anything right now, if we had the time that is."

Lily laughed and gave him a quick kiss. "I know we don't have any time for funny business. Besides, I'd rather be surprised about this prank of yours. You said I would like it better that way. Dumbledore wanted us down in the meeting room in about fifteen minutes. Are you ready to go?"

James nodded as he wrapped his arms around her tightly so he could pull the both of them up off of the couch so they were standing. He really just liked holding her close to him. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Let's go."

James and Lily walked hand in hand toward one of the meeting rooms on the second floor of the castle. They both had been told to wear complete school uniforms and to be on their best behavior by both Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore. When they arrived, James let Lily enter first, and Professor Dumbledore greeted them immediately. "Hello Lily, James."

Lily smiled at him while James nodded to him, saying, "Hello, Sir."

Dumbledore promptly began introducing the two of them to all of the school governors. Soon, the governors were pulling each one of them aside and speaking with them individually about school politics, how they felt Dumbledore ran things, any student concerns, changes students might be interested in, etc. It was incredibly boring. The governors who were not speaking with James or Lily were talking with Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. Lily grew bored very early on, mainly when she had been speaking individually with only the third governor who had pulled her aside and she realized she was practically giving identical answers to their identical questions. She glanced at James a few times and noticed that his expression had soured considerably. She knew it couldn't have had anything to do with what was being said about the school, but rather it was because she had heard every single one of the governors talking about his parents' deaths, each of them expressing how terribly sorry they were to have heard about what had happened. She knew James wasn't exactly over this, nor would he ever truly be, but bringing up such a reminder while the loss was still fresh was bound to be irritating; even Dumbledore didn't seem to appreciate the governors openly discussing the incident.

It had been about an hour and a half of continuous discussions with the school governors before Professor Dumbledore announced at around 12:30pm that lunch was about to be served. James and Lily were happy to be finished with all of the individual stuff, as they sat beside each other at the far end of the table. Finally, they could be left in the background a bit. The governors, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Dumbledore continued discussing leftover issues that had been left unresolved since their last meeting as everyone began to eat. James had taken this opportunity to quietly tell Lily exactly what he truly thought about each of the school governors and what he would do to them magically…if he could. Lily quickly understood that he was trying very hard to embarrass her by getting her to laugh out loud and blush horrendously at being singled out. She had forced her lips together, making it extremely difficult to eat her food. She was trying with everything she had to keep from laughing at the suggestions that James was throwing out at her every few seconds. She had always known he was very inventive in all of his pranks, but to hear him suggest a number of crazy ideas off of the top of his head made her rather impressed.

James was watching Lily's predicament with amusement. Her actions to try and best him only encouraged him to try harder. He noticed that one of the school governors had what looked to be an odd hairpiece. He leaned over towards Lily and whispered, "You see that guys' hairpiece? It already looks like it moves, but imagine if I charmed it to become animated and suddenly bark at anyone who looks at it. I know that I'm not the only one who has been eyeing it. It would be like a dog show in here when I was finished with him."

For whatever reason, at the moment Lily glanced up to see what he meant, the hairpiece seemed to move or shift. This caused Lily to begin to laugh. As soon as she started to laugh, all of the talking around the table ceased. This just made Lily laugh harder, and she felt her face heat up. She knew she was blushing all across her face. She was so going to get back at James for this, but for some reason, she just couldn't stop laughing.

James, however, was grinning broadly into his food, as if he had won some sort of bet. Lily supposed in some way, he had. She eventually calmed down a bit and looked over at Professor Dumbledore. "Sorry, Sir. I think there must be something in the salad."

She had said this so seriously that James almost choked on his food as he tried to keep from laughing himself. He coughed into his hands as he collected himself, something that sounded like "Righhht."

The school governors were all a little concerned and were eyeing the pair of them oddly, but Professor Dumbledore just gave them both a smile. "That's quite alright, Lily. I'm glad to see that you both are enjoying yourselves."

And just like that, Professor Dumbledore restarted the conversation around the table. James stole a glance up the table and found Professor McGonagall watching him carefully, but no one else was paying the two of them any more attention. When he looked over at Lily, she was looking at him with playful anger. "Did you make his hairpiece move, or was that truly an accident?"

He grinned at her whisper and shook his head. "Nope. That was actually not my fault. That's why it was so funny."

He watched her smile into her food. "You know, I'm going to have to get you back for this. It'll happen when you least expect it. I promise."

James just went back to eating, as he chuckled quietly to himself. "We'll see."

Soon, the lunch was over, and all of the school governors said their goodbyes to the two students. When they all had left, Professor Dumbledore turned to Lily and James. "Thank you both for coming down and bringing some life into an otherwise dull afternoon."

James just snickered. "Anytime, Sir."

Lily smacked him on his chest. "It was all his fault, although there apparently was no magic involved."

Professor Dumbledore just chuckled. "I'm sure it was, Lily. Now, go enjoy your afternoon."

Lily and James made their way back to the Heads' Dorm. They still had about two hours before the students returned from Hogsmeade. James was sure they could find something to do to occupy their time.

The next morning, both of them had met up with the Marauders and Lauren. They had spent all morning hearing again and again about Hogsmeade and how wonderful it was. Lily had watched on in amusement as Lauren was grilled by James about her date with whom he had finally found out was Ben Hatcher, the seventh year Ravenclaw that Lily had thought would have been a prospect for Head Boy. Lauren merely told him it had gone ok, but didn't really elaborate further. Lily assumed from her tone and lack of anything to say that the date hadn't been all that great, but the guys didn't seem to catch on. Rather, Sirius had interjected with all of his thoughts on the couple, saying he had seen the bloke open doors for her, hold her hand, and what not. Lauren had been appalled that Sirius must've been spying on her, but Sirius quickly negated those thoughts by saying he had been immersed in blonde hair with a mysterious new fling. Lauren and Lily had both rolled their eyes at his frank admission.

James immediately moved on to Sirius, trying to get him to disclose information about this new fling, but Sirius would only admit that she was a Hufflepuff. When James glanced beyond Sirius, he watched as Remus mouthed the name, 'Debbie Bones.' James started to laugh which caused Remus to laugh. Sirius had no idea what was so funny, Peter also looked confused, and Lauren and Lily had stopped talking amongst themselves to figure out was going on with the boys. It didn't take long to figure out that they were merely ragging on each other.

When it was late in the afternoon, James told Lily to go and hang out with Christina for a while and to come back around 5pm to the Heads' Dorm. She looked at him curiously, but he just looked so adorably mischievous that she didn't question him. When she opened the sphinx gargoyle at almost 5pm, she was surprised and happy that she hadn't bugged him about it. The table in the far right corner was now set up for a candlelight dinner for two. She noticed that James had been reading on the couch waiting for her. He glanced up with a smile as she entered. "Hey, you."

Lily couldn't help but smile back at him. "Hey, yourself. What's going on?"

James sighed as he got up and walked over to her. "Well, I wanted to take you out on an official date of some kind yesterday, but since we couldn't go on the date, I thought I would bring the date to you."

Lily reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Awww… You're so sweet."

He gently kissed her neck as he wrapped his arms around her before whispering in her ear, "Well, you know, it was buried underneath a whole lot of arrogance."

Lily laughed into his chest before looking up at him with a small smile. "I remember."

James leaned down and captured her lips with his, enjoying holding her in his arms. It took him more than a few minutes to pull away. He sighed and kissed her cheek quickly. "Come on, I told my house elves to make you whatever you wanted."

Lily laughed. "I can't believe you! Using your house elves!"

James just looked at her innocently. "What? They are tremendously bored in my empty house. You have no idea how excited Reeny and her daughters, Penny and Jenny, got at the thought of cooking for the two of us. They haven't been able to cook for anyone but themselves for almost two months now."

Lily looked at him curiously as she took one of the two seats at the table. "Just how many house elves do you have?"

James sat down across from her. "We have five. Reeny married Oscar about five years before I was born, and they have three children, Penny, Jenny, and Benny. Don't ask about the names. I find them just as ridiculous, but that was my Mum."

Lily laughed amusedly. "I think they're cute. Besides, now you can tell they're all family."

James smiled at her. "Well, I suppose so. Now, what would you like me to tell Reeny to make for you?"

Lily thought for a moment. "Hmm… Well, chicken alfredo is my favorite."

James smiled at her. "Well, then chicken alfredo it is."

Lily watched as James called Reeny and let her know what to make. She could see what James had meant by her being eager to cook for him. Her eyes were huge and twinkling as she graciously told him she would make whatever they wanted. The two of them talked about a bunch of different things over dinner, but she mainly pressed him playfully about the upcoming prank. James continued to be tight-lipped about the whole thing, although he eventually admitted that the research was going well and let it slip that over the next week, he and Sirius were probably going to be able to start the 'test' phase. She wasn't completely sure what that meant, but she assumed that it meant testing whatever prank they were going to pull on themselves to see if it worked before executing it publicly.

After dinner, they decided to go take a walk outside on the grounds. It was nearing nightfall so it was colder than they had thought it would be, but they performed a few warming charms. They enjoyed the clear sky as they had made their way along the quidditch pitch, the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and eventually the Black Lake. Lily finally pulled James down so they could just sit for a while.

James leaned against a birch tree while Lily sat in between his legs with her back against his chest as they looked out into the water. "Have you ever been in the Black Lake?"

James rested his arms around her from behind and sighed. "Once. I hope I'm never in there again. Grindylows, Merpeople, the Giant Squid. No thanks."

Lily laughed. "You saw _all_ of those things?"

"No, but I was attacked by some Grindylows. I was able to break off their fingers, but I remember wishing I hadn't left my wand on the shore. I only went in because Sirius dared me to anyway."

Lily shook her head. "You two are something else."

James shrugged. "That's not as bad as some of the stuff I've made him do."

Lily was curious and turned a bit so she could look at him. "Like what?"

James smirked at the mischievous tint in her eyes. "Well, I think the worst was when I dared him to remain in the Forbidden Forest alone from 12am-6am during second year."

Lily's eyes widened. "That could've been dangerous, James! I can't believe you!"

James just laughed and ran his hand down her back to soothe her. "No, it wasn't that bad because Sirius didn't have to face all that much. The Forest generally isn't as bad as what everyone is made to think. I'll tell you what happened though. You see, he made his way inside and just walked a whole lot. However, he seemed to have noticed that he had walked a bit too far and into the one location he shouldn't be in, which happens to be the only place that I feel is really dangerous in the Forest."

Lily's eyes were still not amused. "Where did he end up?"

James looked at her curiously, a bit surprised. "You don't know what lives in there?"

Lily shook her head so James sighed before continuing, "Sirius was near the entrance to where the Acromantulas dwell."

Lily shrieked. "_What_!"

James laughed. "Wait! It's not so bad, remember? Sirius figured it out and started to turn back, but he was stopped by a surprisingly kind Centaur. You know that Centaurs generally don't converse with wizards, but this Centaur walked with him until he had made it safely back to the grounds at around 6:30am."

Lily grumbled as she once again got comfortable resting against James. "I can't believe you, James! Something bad could've happened to him. He was only in second year."

James chuckled into her hair, as he tightened his arms around her. "I was in third year when he told me to go into the Black Lake. We had only just learned about Grindylows otherwise I would've been pulled under for a lot longer. It's not like we were even aware of the Bubble-Head charm at that point, and I didn't even have my wand on me. I could've drowned so that was dangerous too."

Lily shook her head. "I can't believe you two. Seriously."

James suddenly laughed. "You're lucky Sirius isn't here to make a 'Sirius' joke with that opening."

Lily turned in his arms so she was looking directly at him. Her face clearly showed her amusement, but her mind was only on James. "I, for one, am glad Sirius isn't here."

James smiled at her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He could easily get used to her looking at him like she was at the moment. "Sirius who?"

Lily laughed, but she was silenced when James closed the short distance between their lips and began to kiss her. She didn't really care much about anything else after that.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Confessions

It had been a week since their lovely date, and Lily still was feeling particularly happy about it. She was currently sitting with Christina doing homework in the Gryffindor common room, but she was constantly being drawn back to thinking about how wonderful James was. Christina sighed. "How many more subjects to go after Charms?"

Lily chuckled at her. "Three. Potions, DADA, and Arithmancy— unless you and your new beau are going to do the last subject together sometime tomorrow…"

Christina glared playfully at her. Lee Rogers had finally asked her out officially a couple days ago. "It's not like you don't get all the help you want in Transfiguration with James."

Lily rolled her eyes. "But I actually _need_ help in Transfiguration…well, usually anyway. You, on the other hand, are pretending to not know all that much about Arithmancy. You should just tell him."

Christina sighed adoringly. "But he's just _so_ sweet when he tries to help me out."

Lily laughed. "Well, maybe once you tell him that you understand it and you just pretended not to so you could get closer to him, you two can spend more of your time snogging rather than doing homework."

Christina threw a pillow from the couch at her as she rolled her eyes. "You are so evil. James is a bad influence…"

The two girls stopped giggling with each other when they saw James, Remus, and Peter enter the Gryffindor common room snickering. James immediately plopped down next to Lily while the other two guys sat comfortably on the floor near the coffee table, each of them grabbing out their books, parchment, and a quill. Lily looked over at James curiously. "What's so funny?"

James was still trying to keep himself from snickering. "Well, we were conducting a test so to speak, and well, Sirius is now in the hospital wing in a rather funny predicament."

Remus and Peter began full out laughing at James' words. Christina just looked amused, but Lily was a bit concerned. Over the last week, the Marauders had been disappearing for a couple hours in the evening when James and Sirius weren't at quidditch practice. She remembered what James had said about them possibly entering their 'test' phase for their upcoming prank. "Is he gonna be alright? What did you three do to him?"

James sighed, finding himself able to become more relaxed as he now tried to ease her growing concern, "Well, we can't exactly tell you what happened. It was an unfortunate miscalculation on my part. Let's just say this portion of the prank will work out beautifully if I can figure this last bit out. We wouldn't want such a misfortune to occur during the actual prank's execution."

Remus shook his head. "You shouldn't blame this all on yourself, Prongs. You know I should've been able to predict this would have happened. Well, not exactly _what_ happened of course, but the _reason_ it happened."

Christina remembered Lily telling her about how James and the Marauders were planning on executing a huge prank soon. "What did you not count on? Can you tell us?"

James snickered. "I have to figure out a way for a permanent sticking charm to be executed a bit differently than it was today. That is all I can tell you."

Lily was confused. James could cast any charm pretty well. "What in the world do you mean? You can probably cast that charm just fine."

Remus chuckled. "Well, it's not exactly being cast…umm…conventionally."

Lily and Christina just shrugged at one another as the three Marauders began laughing amongst themselves again. They had all eventually calmed down and were all working on their homework when James whispered over to Lily, "Hey, is it ok if I go out with the Marauders on Wednesday night again? We kind of do this monthly thing."

Lily nodded, although she was a bit curious about these monthly outings of theirs. She thought back on the last few years and realized the Marauders had been going somewhere once a month for a long time. Remus was always gone once a month, but she had heard that was for a family thing. "Sure. Remind me to ask you about something later though, ok?"

James kissed her forehead before turning back to his homework. "Sure thing."

They all were working rather quietly for about an hour or so before the portrait opened once more and Sirius walked in looking altogether pissed off. The Marauders all began to laugh into their hands as he approached them. Sirius was not amused. "Go ahead. Laugh it up! You all know I _will_ get you back for this. We all take turns at being the tester usually."

Remus sobered up the fastest. "Awww… Come on, Padfoot! You know you would have been in hysterics if that had happened to us!"

Peter nodded at Remus' words. "Yeah! Remember what happened to me that one time last year…"

James and Remus began to laugh at Peter's words while Sirius merely rolled his eyes. "_That_ does not even compare to _this_! Do you have any idea what Madam Pomfrey was _telling_ me as she attempted to fix my…situation?"

James choked as he laughed. "I don't even want to know, Padfoot!"

Sirius finally laid his eyes on James, and held his fingers an inch apart. "Oh, don't even get me started with you! I am _this_ close from thinking you did this on purpose!"

James immediately started laughing, although he was shaking his head in the negative. "No, I didn't! I swear! I'll admit to the time with the green underwear being on purpose, but not this!"

Sirius suddenly turned stoic while Remus and Peter began laughing in hysterics on the floor. Lily and Christina had been trying to block out the Marauders, but they became clearly amused as Sirius began turning bright red in embarrassment. "You did THAT on purpose! I'm going to kill you!"

In an instant, James was on his feet and running from the room, dodging a sea of Gryffindors in his wake. All that could be made out as he ran away was, "Lily, I'll see you for patrol later!"

Sirius immediately was running after him. As Sirius made his way out of the portrait to follow James, he knocked himself into a shocked Lauren. Lauren eyed the remaining group members in front of the fireplace as she made her way inside slightly dazed. "So, what did I miss?"

Remus and Peter were immersed in renewed laughter while Lily and Christina shrugged at her, completely oblivious to what just happened. Remus began to sputter up at Lauren, "The green underwear! It was ON PURPOSE!"

Lauren's eyes widened in understanding, and she immediately began to giggle. She tried to maintain a straight face as she asked in order to clarify, "Really?"

When Remus nodded still laughing and struggling to breathe, Lauren lost it. She was laughing so hard tears were coming from her eyes as she collapsed into one of the armchairs. When the three of them finally began to sober up, Lily couldn't help but be curious. "So, anyone going to share?"

Lauren's eyes were full of mischief. "It was supposedly an accident, but I always wondered if James had done it on purpose."

Remus smiled as he looked over at Lily. "You see, James and Sirius have always tried to embarrass the hell out of each other. It's just been their thing. Well, we were all at James' house sometime during the holidays last year. James had told me that he had come up with an awesome prank, supposedly for his Dad. I thought it was a bit odd, but I was all for helping him with it. We concocted a potion that would make his Dad appear to be only in green underwear for the whole day while he was at home AND no one would be able to tell him about it."

Lily's eyes suddenly widened. "But Sirius drank it?"

Lauren laughed. "Yep! And all of us, including James' parents, Dumbledore, and a couple Aurors couldn't tell him about it!"

Peter joined in, "We were all constantly laughing at him, but every time we would try and say what was wrong with him, all Sirius would hear were the words 'I wish I had some green underwear…' Sirius just had a confused expression on his face whenever he would hear that!"

Lily and Christina began full out laughing. Lily eventually looked back over at Lauren. "When did he finally figure it out?"

Lauren giggled. "After about five hours, Dumbledore was finally able to lift the charm not allowing him to tell Sirius what was wrong. I've never seen Sirius turn so red in the face. It was hysterical."

Remus added, "James, of course, had told Sirius the potion had been meant for his Dad, and I corroborated his story because that's what I had known to be true at the time. Needless to say, James just bested all of us, including Sirius."

The five of them continued laughing amongst one another. Lily shook her head with a smile. She really had no idea she would have ever heard about Sirius Black being that embarrassed. She sighed and turned her attention back to her homework. When she glanced back up, her eyes were sparkling. "So, Potions homework anyone?"

Lily and James had just finished up their patrol that night and had made their way into the Heads' common room. James gently tugged on her hand until she sat down with him on the couch. They were both pretty beat, but he hadn't had her alone all day. Even on patrol that night, there seemed to be a professor or a student around. Lily sighed. "I still can't believe you did that to Sirius, James."

James chuckled a bit. "It's alright. It was worth it. I'm sure he'll get me back at some point now that he knows."

Lily nodded and the two of them just sat in each others' arms for a few minutes, each just enjoying the other's company. James sighed as he twisted a piece of Lily's pretty red hair between his fingers, "Hey, didn't you want to ask me about something earlier?"

Lily's brow furrowed. She didn't want to bring up the Marauders' monthly outings outright because James would probably just pass it off, but maybe she could lead up to talking about that in another way. "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you about the Map."

James was confused. "Sure, what about it?"

Lily turned in his arms, reached into his robe, and pulled it out. James wasn't surprised she knew he had it on him. She pulled out her wand, tapped it, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

James watched her as she pealed back the Map to show the Heads' common room. There was only one name sitting there. Lily pointed. "This."

James gulped. He hadn't even thought about that charm when he had been giving her the Map. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that. However, before I fix it, I should really ask the guys about something first."

Lily frowned. "What do you need to ask them about? Does this have anything to do with where you go every month?"

James looked sheepish. He hadn't planned on her figuring everything out so quickly, but he had already mentioned to Sirius that he wanted to tell her everything. Sirius had just shrugged and said he probably should tell her before she found out in a bad way. James was now just worried about what Remus would say. "Umm, can you hold on for one minute?"

Lily was looking at him oddly as he pulled away from her. She knew he was hiding something, but the expression on his face— somewhere between concerned and reluctant, yet relieved— left her with no idea what it could be about. "Sure."

Lily watched as James walked over to his room and closed the door. He was only gone for a few minutes before he came back out. He actually looked rather nervous now. "I just wanted to let the guys know I was going to tell you."

Lily was confused. "Tell me what? How did you talk with the guys in your room anyway?"

James sighed and sat down next to her. "I trust you promise not to say anything, right?"

Lily was eyeing him curiously. "Of course."

James leaned back on the couch and pulled something out of his pocket to show her. "To answer your first question, this is how I can talk to Sirius whenever or wherever I want to."

Lily gently took the mirror from him and examined it. "It's charmed?"

James nodded. "Yep. Remus' work, of course. He made them for Sirius and I, considering the two of us spent an awful lot of time in separate detentions. This way, we could at least talk with each other. All we have to do is say the other's name and the other person will pick it up."

Lily handed him back the mirror. "What does this have to do with your monthly outings though?"

James looked her over unsure how she would react to what he was going to admit. "You know how Remus goes somewhere every month?"

Lily nodded. "Yeah, but isn't that a family thing?"

James shook his head, still apprehensive and hesitant. "Not exactly. Have you noticed during what time of the month Remus always disappears?"

Lily was about to shake her head no when she suddenly stopped as she remembered something about this Wednesday evening when James and the Marauders were all going to disappear. Her eyes got wide. "No way."

James merely glanced over at her sadly when he could tell she suddenly figured it out. "Unfortunately, yes. Remus is a werewolf, and he only disappears around the full moon."

Lily gasped at hearing him say it out loud. "Remus goes through that horrible transformation every month?"

James sighed, and Lily could see that he didn't like it any more than she did. "Yes. Apparently, he was bitten when he was a young boy. His mother and father were away at the time of the attack. Since it happened, his parents have always treated him differently, like he'll never be a real person again or good enough. They always are asking him to do a bunch of expensive and useless stuff that will attempt to 'fix his problem,' even though everyone knows no cure has been found yet. He hates going home now so he spends a lot of time with us during all of the holidays if he can or he just stays here."

Lily sat silently and knew from James' silence that he was letting her get used to the information. "But…but don't the restof you disappear once a month?"

Lily watched James reluctantly nod before she pressed further, "Well, where do you guys go then?"

James surprised her by slowly standing up and backing away from her. When he saw her about to protest, he shushed her, "No, it's ok. I'm just…going to _show_ you why we disappear too."

Lily nodded slightly and watched as he looked around himself, almost looking as if he were checking to see if there was enough room. She was just about to ask him what he was doing when he took a deep breath and suddenly transformed into a great white stag. Lily was startled, but she quickly got over it. Suddenly, everything made sense. She immediately whispered, "Prongs?"

James shifted back into himself and plopped back down on the couch beside her. "Yeah. Sirius, Peter, and I figured out that Remus was a werewolf during the beginning of second year. We immediately decided to try and become animagi to join him when he went through his monthly transformations, seeing as if we were to get bitten as an animal, it would not affect us. We were finally able to do it over the summer before fifth year. Sirius can turn into a large black dog so we call him Padfoot. Once Sirius and I mastered the transformation, we helped Peter. Peter can turn into a rat so we call him Wormtail. We are not registered, and you are now the only other person to know about the animagi transformations." He snickered after a moment, as if remembering something. "Well, besides Lauren."

Lily was still a bit shocked. "Wait, what about Remus? Who else knows about Remus if no one else knows about you three?"

James sighed. "Dumbledore knows, of course, because he was the one who allowed Remus to attend school. The Whomping Willow was planted at the school just before our first year so Remus could come." He pulled out the Map, activated it, and fumbled through the pieces of parchment to show her. "See, there's an underground tunnel at the opening of the Whomping Willow and it leads all the way to…"

Lily interrupted him as she looked at the Map, "…the Shrieking Shack. That's why all those rumors started around Hogsmeade about it being haunted…"

James nodded. "As for others who may know, I'm pretty sure all of the other Professors are aware of Remus' situation, and then there's us, you, Lauren, and unfortunately, Snape."

Lily looked surprised. "Severus knows? How?"

James' eyes narrowed. "He was beginning to get suspicious sometime last year. Then, something happened— something we, as in us Marauders, no longer talk about— and I saved his life. Dumbledore made him swear not to tell anyone about anything."

Lily was confused, but she could tell James didn't really want to talk about it. He seemed rather upset over whatever must have happened. She remembered a huge fight between James and Sirius last year too. However, if it was something she needed to hear, she knew he would tell her eventually. Or, considering his sour face, it might just be better left unsaid. Besides, he _was_ divulging quite a bit already. "I understand."

Lily was quiet for a bit as she leaned back into the couch, mulling everything over. James was watching her out of the corner of his eyes. "Are you alright?"

Lily sighed, but nodded. "Yeah. I now understand why you are so good at Transfiguration. You would have had to master NEWT standard and higher before even attempting to become an animagus."

James chuckled. "Yeah. Those were definitely an interesting three years. Sirius is probably just as good, but I continue to study it more than he does."

Lily watched as he grabbed the Map that was still activated. He waved his wand over the Map in a particular way and sparks flew out of his wand surrounding the Map, making it glisten for a short amount of time. He closed the Map before handing it over to her. "Here, try it again."

Once she took it from him, she felt him lift her up so she was sitting on his lap. She tapped her wand to the parchment and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

When she opened the Map, she could now see the two of them sitting together in the Heads' common room. James sighed. "Now, you know everything about the Marauders. The defect will still be in place for other people. Consider yourself the only honorary Marauder; well, besides Lauren, of course. Lauren found out about everything when Sirius and I were practicing at my house. I will never forget the look on her face when she found Sirius and I both half-transformed. We were still learning at the time."

Lily chuckled, but leaned against him with her head lying in the crook of his neck. "I still think you all are crazy for running around with a werewolf every month. What if he bites you, even as an animal?"

James ran his fingers through her hair, enjoying having her relax against him. That was something they all sometimes worry about. "Well, Sirius and I are big enough animals where that's usually not a concern."

Lily nodded. "How do you get out on the grounds without being seen that late at night? What about Filch and Mrs. Norris running around the castle?"

James grinned. "Oh, I have an invisibility cloak."

Lily pulled away from him so she could look back at him, her eyes widened in surprise. "You actually _have_ one of those? Aren't they extremely rare?"

James chuckled at her response. "Yeah, they are pretty rare… My Dad got it for me as a gift upon coming to Hogwarts. I thought both of my parents had one as well, but it was just my Dad. When Reeny let me know that she had found it, I gave his cloak to one of his Auror friends at the Ministry, Alastor Moody. I didn't need two of them, and I knew he didn't have one yet. They're dead useful for Aurors. You'd have to be a powerful wizard to see through them. I think Dumbledore can, but I've never asked."

Lily just sighed. "You have too many secrets."

James chuckled at her as he pushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "Not really…"

Lily couldn't resist smiling back. "Anything else to tell me then?"

James shook his head. "Not today."

Lily leaned down and met his lips with hers. The kiss lasted longer than she had intended, but she didn't really care. When she finally pulled back, she giggled before stating quietly, "I'm glad you don't have much else to share because I'm tired and need to go to sleep."

James let her stand up before getting up himself. He stretched. "Yeah, me too. Night, Lils."

"Night, James."

The next day, Lily noticed that Remus was unsure of whether she would think less of him now that she knew the truth about him. The two of them had been prefects together for the past two years and had been friends, so if she didn't have a problem with him then, now would be no different. She made sure to let him know that. It made her happy to see him so relieved.

Now that Lily knew about Remus' condition, she was surprised to start noticing things about the Marauders that she had never noticed before over the next few days. As the full moon approached, she watched as Remus began to pale considerably and look rather sickly. Also, it became plainly obvious that Remus seemed to eat way more than the rest of the Marauders, but he must have one hell of a metabolism because he never seemed to gain a pound. James and Sirius even encouraged him to eat more than the large amount he ate already so he would actually gain some weight for once. What Lily found to be incredibly sweet was that James, Sirius, and even Peter took it upon themselves to distract others from noticing Remus look ill and weak by being a bit more boisterous themselves. She realized that over the last couple of years she probably had been so busy yelling at James for being obnoxious to have noticed that his behavior had merely been a cover for Remus. Lily hated watching Remus go through the whole process too so she decided that she would try to see if she could come up with a potion that might make him feel better leading up to the full moon. By the time lunch rolled around on Wednesday, Remus had disappeared. James had told her quietly that he and Sirius usually take him to the infirmary early so he could get some rest before the evening, as the transformation takes a lot out of him.

That night, James had left her with the Marauders' Map. She was still apprehensive over the fact that he and the others romped around with a werewolf, but she understood that they were doing it to keep their friend company. She reminded him to be careful, but he just smiled at her before giving her a kiss, telling her that she shouldn't worry, and that he'd see her in the morning.

She was now doing the nightly patrol by herself. Even though James had told her not to worry, she couldn't help glancing back at the Map every once in a while to make sure she could still see four certain persons running through the Forbidden Forest alive and well. Lily sighed. She looked over the Map some more, this time searching for persons within the castle, as she walked through the halls. Most areas were deserted. When she heard footsteps near her, she looked quickly at her location and noticed Severus was approaching her. She frowned. She knew he had been on prefect duty that night, but he should have been back in the Slytherin common room by now. Maybe something had happened. She quickly closed and pocketed the Map before finally seeing him round the corner just ahead of her. She pretended to be surprised. "Severus? What are you doing still out? Did something happen? You should be in your common room by now."

Severus sneered at her. "It _is_ still customary to let the Heads know when something runs amiss during patrol, is it not?"

Lily frowned at his rude words. "Yes. What happened?"

Severus just looked bored. "I found Hufflepuff Amos Diggory with Ravenclaw Serena Wittier at a most inappropriate time during an escapade in the broom closet along the fifth floor corridor. They are now speaking with their Heads of House, and I was told to inform you and the imbecile."

Lily looked affronted. "Don't call him that."

Severus rolled his eyes, and she could tell that they had darkened. "Sticking up for Potter now, are you? I should've known. It's not surprising to see him skiving off Heads' duty."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "He's _not_ skiving. It _is_ normal for each of us to want to spend some time with our friends every once in a while. He's patrolled by himself when I've hung out with Christina."

Severus clearly wasn't amused before answering her smartly, "Right. I'm sure he and his friends are just out for a little stroll in the _moonlight_."

Lily glared at his tone and obvious insinuation. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone about Remus, but here he was, basically implying that Remus or one of the Marauders was a werewolf. If she hadn't already known, she was sure the comment would have caused her to be curious about what James was doing and she would've confronted him about it. She also was positive Severus would know that. Why would he want her to be at ends with James again? James hadn't hexed him for almost a month, mostly because of her. "What the Marauders do is none of your business. If you _were_ to know anything, I would think you have been told to keep it to yourself."

Severus looked angry. He must have counted on James not telling her anything. "Well, I'm sure he would never have the decency to tell you _everything_; it would only put him in a bad light…"

Lily frowned. He must have been talking about the incident where he had found out about Remus' condition. James didn't exactly tell her about it, but she could infer whatever had happened he had not been happy about. Severus was just trying to mess with her head, and she was now more than annoyed so her temper flared, "Make your point already, and go back to your common room. You are not supposed to be out and about, and I have to finish my rounds."

Severus scowled at her for not taking him seriously. "You really don't _know_, do you? You want to hear about your 'oh so great boyfriend' and everyone's golden boy? How about I tell you about the REAL James Potter! Let's talk about a prank that went awry as I was told by Black to go to a certain location to find out about a certain someone's condition only to be placing my own life in peril. Your heroic Potter changed his mind at the last second deciding to quote unquote 'save me.' Dumbledore may have believed he didn't have anything to do with what happened, but _I_ certainly don't; nor would anyone with half a brain. Any prank of the Marauders comes straight from _both_ Black and Potter, particularly one involving _me_, and _you_ know it."

And with that, Severus left. Lily was shocked to hear about what had happened, but at the same time, it didn't make any sense. James' face when he had been telling her about the incident a few nights before had been angry. Then, there was the huge fight between him and Sirius last year. No, things definitely did not add up the way Severus made them appear to be. The only real solution would be to ask James about it personally.

James walked quickly and quietly through the sixth floor corridor toward the Heads' Dorm. He had just dropped off Sirius and Peter, and now it was time for him to get what little sleep he could before class in the morning. Wait, it already was the morning. He pulled off his invisibility cloak and yawned as he said the password. When he stepped inside, he immediately froze. She was trying to kill him.

Lily was sleeping peacefully as she sat on the couch. However, unlike the last time where she had been fully dressed, she was wearing a dressing gown loosely over her pajamas which looked to be nothing more than a tiny camisole and some incredibly short shorts. Her long legs were on full display. James gulped and shook his head to clear his dirty thoughts. He immediately conjured her a blanket and walked over to her quietly to lay it over her as she slept. He was intrigued as to why she would wait up out here for him when she was aware that he would not be back until the early morning. The last full moon, her falling asleep out here was clearly an accident. This time, it looked to be on purpose.

His brow furrowed as he pulled her book out of her hands to lay it on the coffee table. He didn't think he had done anything to make her mad. Well, he _hoped_ he hadn't done anything to make her mad. He leaned over a bit and gently kissed her forehead when he couldn't resist. While he was pulling away, her hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his forearm. "James?"

He sighed at hearing her sleepy voice. He spoke quietly, "It's me. I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep, Lils."

Lily shook her head as she opened her beautiful green eyes. "No, it's ok. I wanted to talk to you anyway."

James grimaced at hearing the words no man probably ever wants to hear from their other half. "Do you mind if I take a quick shower to wake up a bit first?"

When Lily shook her head, he nodded at her and went over to his room. Only a couple minutes later, he made his way out into the common room in pajama pants and an old quidditch t-shirt. He wasn't surprised to see Lily waiting up for him wide awake; he only wished he was. He leaned over and lifted her up so she could sit on his lap. He rested the two of them against the couch and got comfortable before asking, "So, what's up, Lily?"

Lily frowned. She could tell he was exhausted, and yet he was still sitting out there with her. Although she had seen him pull a bunch of pranks, she seriously couldn't fathom him doing something so mean when he easily put others before himself many a time. "I'm sorry to keep you up."

James shook his head at her worried face and gave her a small smile. She felt his fingers run through her hair. "Don't worry about it. I took a nap yesterday, and I have a free period later today to nap during if I so choose. Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Lily sighed. "During patrol tonight, Severus came to see me about an incident during his patrol."

Lily saw him frown at her mentioning Severus. "What happened?"

Lily shook her head. "Indecency in a broom closet. It's not important. Anyway, he started making commentary about you and the Marauders."

She saw James' eyes darken. "And?"

Lily took a deep breath before she brought up what had been mentioned. She turned away from him and rested her back against his chest. "Well, it was obvious he was trying to get me to figure out stuff about Remus. But when I gave him the impression I already knew, he brought up whatever happened to him last year."

James sighed at realizing what she was trying to get at. "And he told you his version of the events."

When Lily nodded, he continued, "Well, seeing as you're sitting on my lap and still talking to me, his version of the events doesn't quite add up, does it?"

Looking back at him slightly, she gave him a small smile as she shook her head. "Not exactly."

James wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I'll tell you what really happened. Just promise me you won't bring it up around the guys. I meant it when I said we don't discuss it anymore. It's better left forgotten."

When he felt Lily nod, he kissed her neck before leaning back again. Lily remained comfortably laying with her back on his chest. "I should start at the beginning of that day for you to really understand. Remus was looking pretty ghastly that day so Sirius and I brought him to the infirmary just before classes even started. I already told you that Snape was getting suspicious about Remus so it wasn't surprising when he started taunting Sirius, Peter, and I about Remus being gone so early. When he finally went away, I remember saying something about wondering what he would do if he ever came face to face with Remus as a werewolf." He frowned. "Looking back, I should have known that Sirius might have taken that comment seriously."

Lily turned in his lap to face him. He looked so sad. "Are you saying you blame yourself for a prank Sirius did?"

James sighed. "Somewhat. Anyway, that night, Peter and I were waiting impatiently in the common room. There were a bunch of people around, and I know you were there. Sirius was late. We usually leave to go outside around 8pm or just before it gets dark. Finally, Sirius walks in leisurely with a smirk on his face. I immediately started scolding him for being late because if we get there too late, Remus would already have undergone the transformation and it could be dangerous for us to approach the Shrieking Shack as humans. It's easier when we are there ready and waiting for the transformation to occur as animagi. That's when he lets slip about the little trick he played on Snape. The thing about Sirius you have to understand is that he's impulsive. He acts first and thinks afterwards. I remember yelling at him and holding him up against the wall before running out of the room to try and stop anything bad from happening. The consequences flying through my mind were horrible, things he should have foreseen. With every thought, I became more and more angry with him. Dumbledore would be in so much trouble for letting Remus into the school, all of us would be blamed if anything ever happened to Snape, we could even be expelled, Remus could go to Azkaban for killing or harming a wizard, people could possibly find out about our unregistered animagi forms, and I could probably list more potential problems."

Lily was in shock. She herself hadn't comprehended the magnitude of the problems that could have come from the incident. "You saved him though."

James nodded at her words, but he still looked upset over everything. "Just _barely_. I remember running so quickly through the tunnel. Snape had _just_ magically unlocked the trapdoor to the Shrieking Shack by the time I got close enough. Remus, as a werewolf, could clearly be seen. I immediately grabbed Snape by his robes and pushed him in front of me, telling him to run. Remus had already smelled both of us and was now breaking through the trapdoor to get to us. When we got to the Whomping Willow entrance, I pushed Severus out first before getting out myself. Remus scratched my leg up pretty badly, but didn't bite me as I just made it out. Remus couldn't fit through the opening so he could no longer come after us."

Lily was horrified. "I _told_ you being around a werewolf is dangerous! You could have been _bitten_! You could have _died_!"

James nodded at her sorrowfully, clearly understanding and agreeing with her concerns. "Yes, but no matter how much I don't like Snape, I would _never_ wish that on him."

Lily was trying to soak everything in. "Severus is right though. Any prank that the Marauders pull off has you and Sirius written all over it. How were you able to get Dumbledore to believe you had nothing to do with it?"

James looked down and away from her. "Well, Snape obviously thought I had something to do with it. He was yelling and cursing at me all the way until we reached the castle. Filch, who had been sent by Dumbledore, took us straight to the Headmaster's Office. Once there, someone who had been in the common room when I had looked just about ready to murder Sirius must have brought the situation to his attention because both Sirius and Peter were already there. I was so angry at Sirius that I could barely even look at him. Dumbledore let Snape tell his story before asking him to leave and to keep quiet about Remus. That left the three of us. Now, do you remember me telling you before we started dating that I couldn't lie to Dumbledore and you didn't believe me?"

Lily remembered the conversation or rather, her getting angry over his bullshit excuse. She looked at him sheepishly. "I remember. Sorry about that. So that's really true then?"

James nodded. "Yeah. I can't tell you why I can't lie to him, but for now, just know that I can't. Anyway, when all of the Marauders are sent to his office for whatever reason, he normally lets Sirius explain, not me. If there is something specific he wants to know, that's when he asks me. He doesn't like to take advantage of it when he doesn't have to. Well, this time, considering the circumstances, he ignored Sirius completely and told me to explain everything, so I did."

Lily sighed. "Was that why you and Sirius were at ends for a while?"

James frowned. "Well, not exactly. Sirius seemed to know that the truth would be told regardless and looked as if he suddenly was realizing the potential consequences of his actions. The reason we didn't talk much after that was because I remained so angry with him for doing what he did and couldn't get over the fact that he had done it to begin with; he wasn't angry with me at all. Once Remus found out what happened the next morning, he also was furious with Sirius. Peter was indifferent to the whole situation because he had no idea this had gone on in the first place; he's not exactly bright at putting stuff together sometimes. The morning after, Sirius, Remus, and I had it out. It wasn't pretty."

Lily relaxed against him and rested her head on his shoulder. "But things worked out ok, right?"

James sighed, as he rubbed her back gently. "I suppose so. I heard the Blacks being rather rude to Sirius about two months later and I backed him up. We gradually started getting along again after that. Regardless of what happened, he'll always be my brother and best friend; not to mention, he lives at my house. Remus eventually got over it after making Sirius promise not to pull something that stupid again. Snape has never gotten over it. When he found out that Sirius had merely gotten Saturday detentions for the whole spring semester and I had gotten away with no punishment, he freaked out. Dumbledore explained some things to him, but he has always blamed me for the whole thing. Dumbledore told me later that Snape was and remains so angry with me because he now owes me a life debt or something like that."

Lily's brow furrowed. "I've heard of those. That's incredibly powerful magic at work."

James nodded with a yawn. "Uh-huh."

They sat in silence for a little bit after that. Lily was thinking about everything James had just told her. It made her happy that he trusted her so easily and so much that he didn't hesitate to tell her anything, especially something like this. He was obviously more selfless than she had ever realized. She soon noticed his breathing had deepened so she carefully pulled away from him and smiled slowly at realizing he had fallen asleep. She gently pulled off his glasses and, using her wand that she had placed on the back of the couch, levitated them to the coffee table. She gently turned over one of his lax hands to see his watch, which read 6:33am. If she were to get up to go to her room, she might wake him up so she waved her wand to set a personal alarm charm for 7:45am and got comfortable again on his lap. She didn't mind sleeping next to him for a little over an hour. In fact, she could easily get used to having his arms around her like this. Not to mention, he smelled really good.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Hogsmeade

Lily woke up to an annoying buzzing in her ears. It was slowly driving her crazy, like it did nearly every morning. She immediately reached blindly behind the couch for her wand before ridding herself of the awful sound. When she opened her bright green eyes and focused a bit, she realized she was still sitting on James' lap, relaxing comfortably on his chest. Being more awake and having more light in the Heads' common room made her quickly realize her state of undress. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of that earlier and was certain she was blushing. She closed her eyes to force herself to relax and stop blushing before shifting her weight so she could look at him. He was her boyfriend after all, and there was technically nothing wrong with him seeing her in her pajamas. She smiled slowly as she looked at his sleeping face. He really was incredibly good-looking, especially when he was asleep. She had only seen him without his glasses a handful of times, but she thought he looked good with or without them. Her hand gently grazed his cheek, and she was surprised to feel stubble on his face. It suited him in some way. She had never seen him that way before, but it made him look ruggedly handsome. She would have to remember to tell him that at some point; not that she wanted him to leave the stubble on all of the time and have even more females wish that he was dating them instead of her. She sighed dreamily for a moment, something she had never done before in her life. How come he was interested in her? How'd she get so lucky?

Lily forced herself to try and concentrate on her problem at hand. She was sure he must be exhausted still, but how was she going to get up without waking him? Hadn't this been why she had stayed on his lap to begin with? She gently turned her body a bit so she was no longer facing him and slid her legs so they were almost touching the floor. She was just about to maneuver her weight off of him gently when she heard him groan, "Owww, that hurts."

Lily immediately looked back at him guiltily, but couldn't say she was truly sorry when his arms tightened around her a bit, pulling her back to what must've been a more comfortable position for him. "Sorry. I was trying not to wake you up."

He just nodded sleepily at her with his eyes still closed. "That's ok. What time is it?"

Lily's brow furrowed. "About ten til eight. I can wake you back up in a little bit if you like."

Surprisingly, James shook his head and his hazel eyes began trying to focus on her. "Nah, I should be there for mail because I haven't received my Gringotts letter yet."

She nodded. "Well, then we best get a move on."

He agreed and reluctantly helped her get up. "Do you know where my…" He didn't even finish his sentence before she handed him his glasses. "Thanks."

Lily smiled at him. "Are you sure you're going to be alright today? You've only slept for barely an hour."

James grinned at her and ran one of his hands over the side of her face. "I'll be fine. Now, go get ready."

He watched Lily walk off to her room before heading to his room to shower again to wake up some more. It didn't take him long to get ready and within about fifteen minutes or so, James found himself waiting for Lily in the Heads' common room. He had sucked it up and took a pepperup potion that he had lying around in his room before he hopped into the shower. He was still tired, but at least the potion masked the tired feeling for a while. After a few more minutes, he was bored enough to ask, "Lillllllly, what exactly are you doing in there? I know you can charm your hair dry."

Within seconds of him saying that, her door flew open, and she was giving him one of her looks. James slowly smiled at her and wasn't even embarrassed as he looked her up and down. She was already dressed in her school robe; she was wearing a skirt with a blouse, sweater, and tie; her hair was flowing around her sweetly; and her beautiful green eyes were flashing at him playfully. As much as he hated it when she was mad at him, she was drop dead gorgeous when she was angry. "Watch it, Potter. I have to get all my shit together because I didn't do it last night. Now, quit being smart."

And with that, she walked back into her room to continue packing her satchel for classes that day, but she left the door open so he could still talk to her. James walked a little closer to her room, but kept his distance. A woman's room was dangerous territory. Lauren had told him that. "Awww, my beautiful flower is a bit grumpy this morning. I thought that would be me, but a pepperup does wonders."

Lily looked over her shoulder at him and couldn't help smiling when he was looking at her the way he was. "I'm not grumpy. And you can come in my room you know. I don't mind."

James was happy that she trusted him, but he frowned as he waved his hand near her door. "Well, that's awfully nice of you, but I'm afraid I can't go into your room."

Lily looked up at him in surprise. "There's a ward?" She paused for a moment, but then shrugged and continued, "Well, I know you can probably remove it, and I trust you. It's no big deal."

James was taken aback by her words and was both touched and pleased that she felt that way about him. However, that still didn't change the fact that he could do nothing about the ward. "I'm honored that you trust me, Lils, but I'm afraid this ward is different from the Gryffindor one." Lily watched as he looked over her doorframe and waved his hand over some of it. "I think technically _anyone _could get into your room, but there's something…I think that if you're a male, like myself, you would have to be…I wanna say genuinely worried or concerned about you or your well-being in order to enter. It's not a normal ward so it would probably take some time to research how to get rid of it. The Gryffindor one took me awhile, but I eventually found documentation on it. This one looks to be the work of Dumbledore so it would be harder to decipher. He likes to be tricky."

Lily was surprised he could tell all that by merely observing the door and using his hand. It was something she had only ever seen Dumbledore do. "You can tell all that?"

James shrugged as he continued looking over her doorway. "I've studied a bunch of different wards, including most of the obvious things to look for. Believe it or not but Dumbledore has personal wards all over the castle that the Marauders have come across so I know his style, even if I can't always get around it. I've even created a few wards myself that have passwords and no one could break even if I was dying inside of it. I'm pretty sure I'm correct. Since I'm not at all worried about you or your well-being at the moment, in the way that it wants anyway, I can't come in. See?"

She watched as he tried to force his hand through the door, but there seemed to be an invisible wall or barrier he couldn't get through. "Oh well. At least I know Sirius will never get in if he's ever in the Heads' common room without me."

James snickered. "Yeah. Trust me when I say that's a good thing."

Lily grabbed her satchel and threw the strap over her head and onto her shoulder. "Ready?"

James stepped away from the doorway so she could come out of her room. "When you are, my lady."

He offered her his arm, which she took, and then they made their way down to the Great Hall. As soon as they walked in, they headed toward where the Marauders usually sat. Christina and Lauren now tended to sit over there more often because of Lily. As they were walking in, Lily was surprised to see Severus looking at her furiously. She whispered up toward James, "James, why is Severus looking so pissed off with me?"

James glanced out of the corner of his eye to see what she meant without making it obvious. After a minute, his sleep-deprived mind seemed to catch on. "Oh, that's easy." He leaned down and kissed her forehead before whispering in her ear, "You're not angry with me."

She smiled over at him as they sat down. "Oh yeah, I forgot."

Sirius looked up at her as she sat down. "Forgot what, Red?"

James, Peter, Lauren, and Christina all stifled their laughter at what must be Lily's new nickname from Sirius. Lily narrowed her eyes. "Nothing. What's with this Red business?"

Sirius shrugged and spoke like it was obvious, "You call me Black so I'm gonna call you Red."

That did it. They all started laughing. Lily was the only one not amused yet. "Colors? How original. Black is your last name though."

Sirius just flashed her his famously handsome grin and winked at her. "And Red is the color of your hair, darling."

Lily guffawed, but eventually sighed. "At least it's nothing worse than that I suppose."

No one could add anything because the mail began to arrive. Owls upon owls entered the Great Hall. James appeared put off as an owl flew past him dropping something on his head before landing calmly and orderly in front of Lauren. Lauren laughed and offered the owl some bacon. "That's a good owl, King."

James scowled as he grabbed the letter that had fallen into his breakfast. "He's still upset over me choosing to keep Matty as my owl, Lauren. It's not funny, and you shouldn't encourage him. He's being ridiculous, even if he was Mum and Dad's owl for seven years. Plus, I told him to be your owl so it's not like he doesn't have an owner now."

Lauren just looked over at him amused, before leaning across the table to say softly, "He just likes me better than you, Jimmy."

James rolled his eyes and was about to retort, but stopped in surprise when Matty landed in front of him as well. "Hey Matty, you have something for me too? Wow."

James began looking over his letters after giving Matty a snack. He finally got his letter from Gringotts that he would open when he was by himself, but there was also a letter from some financial advisor person who was talking to him about stocks and assets he must also now own. He supposed he would have to set up an appointment with whoever that was because Dumbledore never mentioned any of that. After a few minutes, he seemed to sense that something was wrong with Lily. No one else had seemed to notice, as everyone continued to talk animatedly around them, but he just knew. When he looked next to him, he noticed she was sitting quietly, not eating, and was looking at two letters that she had gotten from her owl, Greta. She was absentmindedly feeding Greta some toast, but her eyes never left her letters. "Lils? What did you get? Are you ok?"

Lily jumped a bit at his voice, but calmed when she felt his hand rub her back gently. She didn't say anything, but slid them over so he could see. She hadn't opened them yet, but he noticed one was from her parents (which wasn't that un-ordinary), but the other was from her sister, Petunia. He frowned. "You should read them. It could be important."

Lily sighed and nodded. She gently ripped open the two letters and began reading them both. James watched her quietly and was unsure of how to gauge what was in the letters. Lily's face was one of shock, disgust, hurt, anger, and confusion. He figured he would never understand how girls could feel so many emotions at once. "Well?"

Lily was quietly fuming. "My sister is getting _married_."

James could tell by her face that this was not a good thing. By this time, the others had finally begun to notice. Sirius frowned at seeing her so upset. "What's wrong, Red? Isn't marriage a good thing?"

Christina looked over at her in surprise. "Wait a minute, didn't you tell me she was dating this total loser just because he was quote unquote 'normal' and she could do so much better if she actually had any sense at all?"

Lily frowned. She could no longer keep in what she was feeling. "Oh, he's a total dunderhead. Not only is she about to make the _worst_ mistake of her life by marrying the git, but she tells me I _have_ to be a bridesmaid only because my _Mum_ is _making_ her. A BRIDESMAID IN PINK, no less. Did I mention that I have red hair and will look so stupid? How about the fact that my parents can't wait for me to come home for Christmas so we can do this whole introduce him to the family thing while my sister is telling me not to come home at all because she doesn't want him to have to deal with anything UNNATURAL! UGGHHH! Why must she treat me like I'm some sort of a _freak_? I'm _just_ as normal as she is. Well, almost."

Sirius, Peter, Christina, and Lauren were a little surprised by her outburst, but James just put his hands gently on her shoulders to calm her down a bit, and she instantly deflated. "It'll be alright, Lily. I still think Sirius will be able to help you best."

Sirius sighed, not altogether surprised by James' recommendation to speak with him. He wordlessly silenced the air around all of them. "So you have problems with family too, huh? Did you and your sister used to get along?"

When he saw Lily nod, Sirius sighed again. "Reg and I used to get along too. We still tolerate each other and I don't hex him if I can avoid it, but our relationship became strained when I was sorted into Gryffindor. My parents actually demanded a re-sorting to be done the very next day, which obviously didn't work, seeing as I still ended up in Gryffindor. Reg, being younger than me, was force fed a bunch of pure-blood hoopla while I was away at school to ensure that he would not fail where I apparently did. I don't necessarily believe Reg buys into everything as much as he pretends to, but let's just say that Reg has no backbone and does whatever people tell him to do, especially my hag of a mother. Now we rarely speak, if ever, and I resent him for not standing up for himself. I'm sure you resent her for not being open-minded, am I right?"

Lily was horrified to hear all this from Sirius about his crazy family; not to mention, seeing Sirius acting serious was a new thing unto itself. She nodded at his observation. She definitely was angry because Petunia could not accept who she was, even if it was a witch. "I just wish that we could go back to the way we were."

Sirius sadly shook his head. "That you'll have to let go of. There is no going back. We all are the way we are, and now we all have to make the best out of what's in front of us. My best advice is to write her back and encourage her to continue writing. Talk about normal things for her until she gets comfortable hearing about magical things. As much as we all are wizards and witches, we all feel similarly and do a lot of the same things that muggles do. As for the bridesmaid thing…" She laughed when he made a face. "I hope you don't mind wearing pink for an afternoon."

Lily gave him a smile. "Thanks, Black."

Sirius smiled at her before returning to eat and chatting with Peter. "No biggie."

James had been innocently reading her parents' letter as they talked. "Hey Lily, I just thought of something."

Lily looked over at him as he continued scrutinizing her parents' letter. "What's that?"

James furrowed his brow. "Well, this main dinner thing with your parents and aunt and uncle is the first weekend everyone goes home. Sirius, Lauren, maybe Remus too, and I are heading to Potter Manor just for that weekend, but then we are all coming back here for the rest of break. We already signed up on those lists we put up for those that intend to remain at Hogwarts over break. Why don't you do the same? That way, you wouldn't disappoint your parents and would go to the dinner, but you also don't have to stay the whole time and suffer with your sister who will be parading her idiot fiancée around over the holidays. You could celebrate Christmas at Hogwarts with us."

Lily actually smiled. "That's not a bad idea, but only if you…"

James eyed her warily. "Only if I what?"

Lily smirked. "Only if you keep me company at this stupid dinner thing. My parents will have my three annoying girl cousins come along, most likely with dates of their own; my boring aunt and uncle will be there, of course; then there's my sister who hates me, her stupid fiancée, and finally my parents. That leaves me all alone."

James sighed, knowing that he would probably never deny her anything anyway. "Despite how scary that sounds, I wouldn't want to leave you alone in that mess so I promise to make it my personal duty to ensure you smile and have a good time."

Lily kissed his cheek. "Thanks."

James just smiled back at her. "Anything for you."

They all eventually made it to double Potions that morning. Lily was used to Slughorn constantly praising her work, but today it was just getting old. She knew she was good at Potions. There was just something about it that she enjoyed, and she seemed to have a knack for identifying minor adjustments to make potions work even better than the text suggested. However, he didn't have to constantly embarrass her for making a perfect potion each class. Today especially, considering Severus was already practically seething at her. She knew Severus was almost as good at Potions as she was, but Slughorn didn't really care and never gave him the time of day. The only upside of being a Slughorn favorite was that she could say whatever she wanted to him and never get detention. He always had a soft spot for his favorites. James would just smile at her whenever she gave Slughorn a cheeky reply and she was aware that he knew she didn't like the attention. He wasn't that bad at Potions either, but only when he took the time to pay attention. When he was distracted, which happened more often than not due to Sirius talking to him or him staring at her, his potions tended to have a missing ingredient or too much of an ingredient somewhere. At least nothing of his had exploded yet this year.

After lunch, they had double Charms. Lily loved Charms class. It didn't matter what they were learning, but she could usually do it within the first five minutes of attempting the spell. All of her additional reading seemed to work wonders for her Charms spell work. James and the rest of them never seemed to have that much trouble in Charms either. Peter always struggled a bit, but James or Sirius would take a minute to help him catch up. Lily and Christina headed to Arithmancy after that, but she was sure the boys were just going to go nap.

Remus returned around dinnertime. He was looking rather pale and, if possible, skinnier than the last time Lily had seen him, but other than that, he looked alright. James and Sirius had quidditch practice that evening, and they were gone a while. When James finally returned to the Heads' common room, he looked wiped. He took a shower before coming out to do Heads' patrol with her. Lily wasn't sure he should even bother going because he definitely needed to sleep. "James, I can do patrol by myself. You should go to sleep."

James just shrugged and took her hand. "Nah. I like spending time with you. Besides, I'll just sleep really good tonight."

Lily sighed. He was so stubborn. "As long as you're not still tired on Saturday. Even if you have tomorrow to catch up, I'm not sure it'll be enough. I have lots of shopping to do, and I'm going to drag you around with me to do it."

James laughed. "That's alright. I have shopping to do too, you know. I just have to get stuff for the guys and Lauren. I think anyway."

Lily gave him a mischievous smile. "What about me?"

James gave her a mysterious smile in return. "Oh, I already have your gift covered, Lils. I actually did that a few days ago."

Lily was surprised. "Really? I'm impressed."

James grinned. "I do have my moments."

They continued on their way and eventually sent five students back to their dormitories with a couple points off for being out after hours. By the time they got back to the Heads' common room, James looked exhausted. He gave her a quick goodnight kiss before heading off to his room. "Goodnight, beautiful."

Lily shook her head at him as he disappeared. She couldn't believe he was so stubborn. "Night, James."

When Lily woke up on Saturday morning, she was amazed Friday had gone by so fast. She was instantly in a state of frenzy. She was going to Hogsmeade with James in less than an hour. What the hell was she going to wear? After a quick shower, she frantically started searching through all of her muggle clothes. Sure, James had seen her dressed normally before, but this was the first time he'd see her that way when they were together as a couple. That made a huge difference. After what seemed to be way too long, she settled on her favorite jeans and a midnight blue v-neck jumper. She put on some make-up, charmed her hair dry, and eventually found her winter coat buried in her trunk. She was going through her wizarding money when she heard James knock on her door. "Lils? Breakfast is almost over. Are you almost ready?"

Lily's eyes widened when she realized it was that late. She threw her money into her coat and hurried out the door. "I'm ready. Sorry."

James just let out a whistle and was looking at her with wide eyes. "Wow. You didn't have to dress up for me Lily, but feel free to do it anytime."

Lily just gave him a coy smile. "Ok, I did it for Remus then."

James narrowed his eyes and grabbed her as she tried to run away from him as she laughed. "That's not very funny."

Lily just continued giggling as he held her against him. He leaned over and kissed her gently. "You look beautiful. You always look beautiful."

Lily sighed. He was looking at her like he could watch her all day. Well, she supposed he _did_ watch her all day. "You don't look so bad yourself."

James just looked down at his clothes under his coat. He was wearing jeans and a black button down shirt. "Ehhh…"

Lily just shook her head at him and grabbed his hand. He knew he looked good. "Come on. Let's go grab some food before we leave."

They both made their way to the Great Hall, grabbing a muffin and some toast before heading out to the Entrance Hall, where many students were waiting. James immediately took them over to wait near Sirius and Remus who were standing off to the side, looking impatiently at their watches. "Hey, guys. Where's Wormtail?"

Sirius just rolled his eyes. "Late."

Remus punched him in the arm. "Relax, Padfoot. I'm gonna go back to Gryffindor tower to go check and see if he headed back there because he forgot something. That's something he would do."

Lily looked at him confused. "But how are you going to get to Hogsmeade if you don't make it back? The carriages will be leaving in minutes."

Remus just grinned at her. "I may be a prefect, but I _am_ a Marauder, Lily. We have our ways."

James and Sirius chuckled as he left while Lily just rolled her eyes. James was ready to comment but stopped when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, wait a second…"

Suddenly, James let go of Lily's hand and walked purposefully over to his left. Lily turned and immediately knew where he was heading. Near a crowd of Ravenclaws, Lauren was standing with a bright smile on her face, but what was probably on James' mind was the fact that she was holding someone's hand. That someone was Gryffindor Keeper, Dan Owens. She wondered how Lauren was able to keep secrets from the Marauders because she was obviously pretty good at it. Lily remembered that Lauren hadn't been too keen on Ben Hatcher after their date two weeks ago, but to have found a new boy so quickly without any of the Marauders finding out had her pretty impressed. Sirius whistled. "Ooooh, she's in for it now."

Lily gave him a small smile. "He should just let her be."

Sirius shrugged. They both continued to watch what was going to happen as James found his way in front of Lauren. Both of them could see Dan appear to pale considerably at finding James in front of them. Lauren, although she did drop Dan's hand when she noticed James, just rolled her eyes and waited for whatever he was going to say. James said something to her, and Lauren's eyes narrowed. Whatever Lauren's response was made Dan look over at her surprised. When James started speaking again, Dan appeared to be in utter shock. Lily looked over to Sirius a bit worried. "Umm, maybe we should go see what's going on?"

As they got closer, Lily began to understand why Dan appeared so bewildered. Both Lauren and James were speaking angrily at each other, but what was so odd was that they were saying everything in fluent French. Sirius rolled his eyes, unsurprised. "Damnit. They're speaking in tongues again. I told them to quit that."

Lily was more than a little surprised, but she was also impressed at finding out something new about James she hadn't known before. It was strangely alluring watching him speak a foreign language fluently. She finally realized why girls always had a thing for guys with accents. "Where in the world did they learn to speak French like that?"

Other people were beginning to notice the fight as well. James and Lauren had gotten a bit loud and other students were watching the two of them with interest. Sirius continued to keep his eyes on the two of them, but he leaned over and spoke to her softly, "The Potters own property in the South of France. James used to go there all the time as a kid. Lauren of course came too when she moved in with them. James has been able to speak it for as long as I can remember. Lauren picked it up rather quickly too. It is so annoying when they used to do this. They haven't done it in a while though. They usually only do it when they don't want anyone to know what they're talking about."

Lily watched Lauren and James carefully. Lauren looked more upset than James so she inferred that Lauren must be angry at him for nosing in her personal life. It was hard to follow them both, although she heard the names Ben, Dan, Tyler, and Mike a few times. They were talking too fast for her to be sure about anything else. Finally, Lauren's eyes flashed at whatever James was saying and she shouted out in frustration, "JUST BUTT OUT, JIMMY!"

Many people had already been watching them, but as soon as she had shouted that, many more turned in their direction with curious eyes. James' eyes narrowed, and Lily thought for once, he actually looked truly angry at Lauren. Lauren's face paled as James started ranting in vicious French. She immediately began repeating a phrase over and over, one that Lily assumed meant 'I'm sorry.' Lily turned to Sirius, who was also looking mighty apprehensive at James, like he might do something stupid. "What did she do, Sirius? I don't get it."

Sirius looked over at her in surprise. "Are you kidding? She just called him Jimmy in public. She must have a death sentence."

Lily looked at him puzzled. "But Lauren calls him that all the time."

Sirius gave her a look. "_Privately_. Have you once seen Lauren call him Jimmy in public?"

Lily thought for a moment and immediately knew the answer was no. "But it's not so bad."

Sirius sighed. "James hates it though. When we were younger, he made sure no one ever called him that. He just said it was a stupid name. When Lauren moved in with them, she used to call him Jimmy on purpose to annoy him— you know, like siblings do. She did it so often that it stuck. To this day, she's the only one he now willingly lets call him Jimmy. I think he just gave up trying to get her to stop. Hopefully no one else here starts calling him that. You might have to stop him from hexing people again."

Lily looked back over at the two of them. They seemed to have calmed down, since they were now speaking more quietly and relaxed, although still in French. That's when she heard Lauren say something she understood— 'Je t'aime.' She smiled when she heard James eventually say it back to her. They said a few more things before Lauren made her way back over to a very confused and scared looking Dan. Lily giggled when she heard Dan reluctantly ask Lauren if James was going to kill him as they walked away. James sighed as he made his way back over to her and Sirius, looking drained from the whole situation. "Well, that was fun."

Sirius snickered as he looked around. "Your fan club is now in more awe of you because they now know you can speak French fluently. See what you started?"

James frowned at the group of girls Sirius was talking about, who were all giggling at him from afar. Others were looking at him curiously still, but none lingered too long. "Who cares? I already have a girl, the best girl at that."

Lily smiled at him. "Awww, there's the guy I was going to Hogsmeade with. I thought he left for the South of France."

James glared at her playfully as she was teasing him. "You're a funny girl today. Ready to do some shopping, beautiful?"

Lily shrugged. James took her hand and led her over to the carriages. Sirius and eventually Remus and Peter left them to go do some shopping of their own once the carriages reached Hogsmeade. Now, they were finally by themselves. Lily looked over at him. "What was with earlier? Can you talk about it? Sirius said you two only do that when you don't want others to overhear you."

James frowned. "Well, he's partly right. Not many people know how Lauren is related to me and seeing the two of us fight publicly like brother and sister would likely turn some heads. If we are speaking in French, it just looks like we're fighting, nothing more. As for what we were fighting about, well, _that_ I suppose is obvious. She thinks I'm overprotective and that she can take care of herself. That's true for the most part, but even she has to admit she needs help sometimes. Besides, she's had dates with four guys in six months. I'm not blind; she's very pretty. I can be a little wary for her."

Lily nodded as they walked through the village. "What about the whole Jimmy thing?"

James made a face. "I _hate_ that name."

Lily laughed and gently shoved him. "Why? It _is_ your name, you know."

James sighed, but he did smile slightly at her teasing. "I don't know. It just makes me sound so young. Plus, it's extremely annoying. I've become pretty numb to Lauren doing it, although she usually remembers to call me James in public. I don't need other people to start calling me Jimmy. One person is more than enough."

Lily shrugged. "Well, I'm used to calling you James so you're lucky. Now, about this whole shopping thing… I imagine you want to go to Zonko's for the guys? What about Lauren?"

James smiled. "Zonko's and Honeyduke's for the guys, no question. I have an idea for Lauren that I mentioned to Sirius yesterday, but I want her to still get to open something on Christmas morning. I was thinking of getting her a new satchel. She was complaining about hers a while back."

Lily nodded. "Well, then let's go to Gladrags first. I know they sell satchels there. I can look for a jumper for Petunia or something. I've come to the conclusion that I will have to mainly do some muggle shopping when I go home."

James gave her a mischievous smile. "We can apparate somewhere, if you want. We technically can go wherever we want as we _are_ seventeen."

Lily gave him a look. "James, you _know_ we aren't supposed to leave Hogsmeade."

James just chuckled. "I know, but when have I ever followed the rules?"

Lily rolled her eyes. She was glad when he didn't seem serious about leaving. "Come on."

They made their way over to Gladrags Wizardwear. She started looking through ladies' jumpers while James looked over at the ladies' satchels that were on display. He soon made his way back over to her, almost pouting. "I don't like any of them."

Lily glanced up at him amused. "There are a couple more shops we can try."

Lily eventually found a lavender cashmere jumper for her sister and a maroon zip up jumper for Shelley at Gladrags. They made their way over to a couple more shops, and James finally found a satchel for Lauren at a new boutique called Mildred's Place. Lily was impressed with his pick. He had good taste, and she was sure Lauren would love it. The satchel was black, but it was lined with a scarlet interior. She watched as James went to pay for it and was slightly surprised when he merely signed something instead of paying with money. She didn't even know wizards used that method of payment. She didn't question him about it though. As soon as James brought it outside, he stopped Lily for a second and pulled it out. "Wait a minute, I have to make some adjustments to it now otherwise I'll forget."

Lily was just about to ask him what he meant when he began waving his wand around, mumbling a bunch of different charms. Nothing appeared to have happened to the satchel. After a few minutes, she watched him stop and look at it critically before waving his wand one more time. Inside the satchel on the inner pocket now had a P symbol like the symbol that she had seen on Reeny's little dress. "What did you do to it? Is that the Potter crest?"

James nodded. "Yep. I also made it feather-light, made it carry whatever and however much she wants, used an unbreakable charm, and added a few wards."

Lily smiled at him as he put the satchel away. He was really being sweet, especially seeing as they fought earlier. "So she's an honorary Potter?"

James chuckled. "She's been a Potter since she was seven. Zonko's?"

Lily sighed, but couldn't deny him when his eyes were all lit up and pleading at her like they were. "Sure."

James found a bunch of items in Zonko's. Lily figured she would get something else for the guys, although she wasn't sure what. It was obvious James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter only got each other presents from that location. They stopped at Honeyduke's Sweetshop next. They both bought items there too. Her family always loved the sweets she brought home, mainly because she lied and said she got them the muggle way. As they left Honeyduke's, James eyed Lily critically. "You didn't buy much today. Are you sure you got everything you need?"

She gave him a quick kiss. "I'm trying to think of something else to get the guys. You all buy stuff from Zonko's and Honeyduke's. I'm going to get them something different. I told you I still have to go shopping in some muggle stores. That's where I'm getting your present; probably my parents' too."

James was practically beaming. "I get a MUGGLE present! Wicked."

Lily giggled at him. "I take it you've never gotten a muggle present before."

James shook his head, still smiling. "Nope. Now, I'm all excited."

She held onto his arm as they made their way back up through the village. "Fancy a drink? It's getting cold out here."

James nodded and escorted her over to the Three Broomsticks. They made their way inside and up to the bar. James smiled at the pretty blonde witch behind it. "Hey, Rosie. Can we have two butterbeers please?"

Rosmerta looked up and smiled at James. "Sure, honey. I was expecting you with Sirius earlier."

James looked over at Lily with a wink. "Nah, I had better company. Sorry you were left to deal with him alone."

Rosmerta laughed as she walked away to get them their drinks. Lily eyed him curiously. "What's with her and Sirius?"

James just gave her a smile and kissed her cheek. "Sirius is a horrible flirt. You should know this by now. Rosmerta is what? 25? 26? Sirius reckons he has a chance."

Lily laughed. "I suppose I should know that about him. Has he ever truly liked anyone? Like wanted to actually date someone?"

James pondered this. "You know, I'm not sure. I think his longest relationship was…well…"

He suddenly broke off looking like he shouldn't have said anything. Lily was curious now. "Who?"

James grimaced. "Ummm, Christina."

Lily's eyes widened. "Really? But after a month, he went behind her back and just randomly snogged another girl!"

James sighed. "To be honest, I think he just got scared. We were all in fifth year. He probably didn't know how to be a good boyfriend yet. I know he really liked her though."

Rosmerta dropped off their drinks, and James immediately pulled out a few coins for her. They chatted for a while in there, but soon found themselves outside again at James' behest. He suddenly got the feeling they were being watched in there. Lily hadn't been worried as there were a bunch of people around, but James' face suggested he was more than serious. They had shrunk all of their items, but some of them kept falling out of James' pockets as they walked. "Damnit."

Lily would giggle at him every time he would stop. "We could head up to the castle and drop this stuff off, you know. We don't have to wait the other hour for the carriages."

James sighed, but was secretly glad. Although he hadn't brought it up to Lily and hadn't truly identified the culprit, as he was looking back on the last couple of hours, he was damn near positive they have been and were still being followed. Well, hopefully this sudden departure would lose them. "Ok."

She hadn't expected him to give in so easily so it came as a surprise when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her and apparated them to the Hogwarts gates. "Whew. Warn me before you do that next time."

James smiled down at her and kissed her gently. "Sorry."

As they walked back on the grounds, they were surprised to see Hagrid out and about. James shouted out to him, "Hey Hagrid! Long time no see."

Hagrid turned when he was addressed and gave them both a big smile. "Where bouts you two comin' from? Yeh shoud be in Hogsmeade. Don' suppose yeh shoud be back 'ere quite yet. Dumbledore woud not be happy seein' yeh wanderin' out by yerselves."

Lily smiled at him. "We had finished shopping and had too much to carry. We decided to come back early."

James nodded. "We're on Hogwarts property now, Hagrid. Nothing to worry about."

Hagrid gave him a sad smile. "Yeh never can be too careful, James. You espec'lly. Promise me yeh won' be stragglin' like this anymo'e."

James gave him a nod, and they both watched as Hagrid headed back to his hut near the Forbidden Forest. Lily looked at James curiously. "What did he mean, James?"

James sighed and looked at her sadly. As much as he didn't want to tell her, he knew it would be better if she knew. At the very least, she wouldn't be left to wonder about his paranoia at possibly being followed. He spoke to her in a lowered voice, "Dumbledore warned me to be careful and on the lookout. He's not sure if my parents were the only ones Voldemort was after. As long as Dumbledore is Headmaster, we should have nothing to fear. Voldemort has never sought to challenge him or Hogwarts. We're much safer here than in Hogsmeade or anywhere."

Lily nodded slowly, not really understanding what he was implying. "But why would he come after you?"

James opened the door to the castle and ushered her inside. He gently pulled her along until he found a tapestry and pulled the two of them behind it. She immediately lit up her wand and saw him putting a ward around them. "Umm, where are we?"

James finished the ward and a couple of charms before sighing. "We're in a secret passageway. You asked me about things I shouldn't be discussing openly."

Lily's brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

James eyed her a bit, before saying with no hesitation, "I trust you not to say anything. To anyone. Including Lauren or the Marauders."

Lily nodded so he continued, "Well, there has been some evidence that Voldemort has been targeting certain people or families. My parents continued working as Aurors and left me ignorant of the situation. Once they were…gone, the Aurors informed me of the possible threat. Voldemort and his followers supposedly want to wipe out my family line."

Lily was looking at him horrified. "But why?"

James actually gave her a small smile. He really liked the fact that she knew nothing about pure-bloods or his family. He knew that she was actually dating him because she liked _him_ and not for other reasons. "The Potters are an extremely old pure-blood family, obviously connected to other pure-blood families. If they were to eliminate all heirs, then the entire Potter estate would revert back to the closest living relative that is bound by blood not marriage, however distant it may be. I'm pretty positive it would be the Blacks, although all of my family history is in my Dad's study and I have yet to go through it completely. I am the last true Potter heir. My only other three close living relatives, including Lauren, are not bound to the Potter estate by blood."

Lily was quiet for a moment. "But you could write a will and leave everything to Lauren or one of the others."

James sighed. "Then, if anything happened to me, they would murder Lauren or one of them, and it would still revert back. The Potter estate is massive and in the hands of, well, Slytherin types, it would _not_ be a good thing. It would give them quite a windfall of money to buy anything they could ever want or need to have influence on wizardkind without ever spending any of their own money."

Lily gave him a small smile as she realized what he was trying to say and was impressed when he didn't sound arrogant in the slightest. She was now quite concerned for him. "So what you're saying is you're filthy rich and all of the dark pure-bloods are after your money?"

James chuckled at her blunt summary. "According to Gringotts, the Potter estate is the biggest. It's because we have never spent money on extravagant, useless things like the other pure-blood families. My family has always held jobs of some kind unlike the aristocratic, 'I'm too good to work' pure-bloods so the money just keeps collecting. Don't tell Sirius though. He likes to think the Blacks have more money."

Lily snickered at his little quip, but sobered up quickly as the situation altogether wasn't funny. "So what are you going to do?"

James just sighed. "Well, basically what I had already planned to do. Finish out the year, hopefully get into the Auror program, etc. I just have to make sure that I don't put myself out in the open and leave myself vulnerable. Or as Alastor Moody, my parents' Auror friend, would say, 'I must have constant vigilance!'"

Lily nodded, but still looked troubled. James wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss, lingering slightly. "Don't worry about me, Lils. Trust me when I say I don't feel it's time to worry yet. No one in their right mind would try anything, particularly while I'm at Hogwarts. It's the safest place there is."

Lily sighed and kissed him again, letting her fingers drift up into his hair to pull him closer. She hoped he was right.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – The Prank of All Pranks

The last time Lily had spent some quality alone time with James had been just after their day in Hogsmeade. However, at the time, she had been more concerned with the knowledge she had just been given. James had directed her not to even think about any of what they had talked about, seeing as Lily didn't know how to do Occlumency. If she ever wanted to say anything about it, she should only refer to it as 'the thing we talked about.' Lily thought he was taking things a bit far, but after listening to him discuss how the pure-bloods all pass down talents like Leglimency and Occlumency, she began to take him more seriously. He gave her a few books on the subject, but told her that if she wanted to learn, it takes a lot of time to actually be able to do it properly in practice, but he would help her if she wanted. The worry must have shown on her face because he suddenly smiled at her mischievously and said he had an idea that would ensure she would have nothing to worry about soon.

It was now Wednesday, and she was surprised at how much she missed spending time alone with James. All day Sunday, James and the Marauders were gone. Lily knew they were finishing up their prank, wanting to get it in before the week was out and Christmas Break began. On Monday, they had been together but only in classes, and the Marauders all ran off again for the evening. Tuesday had been the same, but it had been quidditch that had taken up his evening. Patrol didn't seem to count as they were never truly alone, seeing as how it was the week before Christmas Break and everyone thought it was more than alright to wander where and when they pleased. She couldn't believe how much she missed just talking with him, touching him, relaxing together, or snogging him senseless. She had never had this type of need for companionship with anyone else before. What made her happiest was knowing that James must be feeling the same way. Over the last two days, James had been giving her countless drawings from class, left her roses on her bedroom door, and always found an excuse to touch her in some way.

This Wednesday morning at breakfast, however, seemed a bit different. The Marauders were all smiles and were looking more relaxed than they had been for a while. Professor McGonagall soon approached the group a bit concerned. According to her, it had been one whole month without a single prank from the Marauders and both the professors and students had finally started commenting about it to her. She had come to make sure they were all ok. Even Lily wouldn't have taken their innocent looks as a reassurance that everything was fine. McGonagall had just pursed her lips and walked away shaking her head. Lily knew she must be expecting the worst, seeing as it was now the last week of classes before Christmas Break.

Soon after, James had leaned over to whisper in her ear that the prank was scheduled for that night at dinner so she had to make sure she was there. He was glowing with happiness so she knew that whatever they were going to do was going to be pretty crazy. Lily's curiosity about the prank grew when Remus suddenly guffawed at James and Sirius, looking at them critically. "That's _all_ you're both eating? I don't think so. You both need to eat more than that if you expect to have the energy to pull this off. At lunch too."

Sirius gave him a glare, but eventually grabbed more food. James just sighed and reached for more toast, before responding, "Remus, I have no idea where you put it all. I don't want to throw up before dinner, you know."

Lily looked at all four of them suspiciously. "What kind of magic do you plan on doing that you will be needing EXTRA energy to pull it off?"

James gave her an apologetic look. "Well, it's kind of difficult to explain. From the trial runs we've done, we are positive that it will take a lot of magical power. I just hope I'm not dead by the end of it."

Sirius snickered. "You'll be fine. Have some confidence. I've seen you do the spells a bunch of times now."

James just shrugged, and Lily thought he looked like he still might be a little concerned. Class that day was excruciatingly boring for Lily. She had slipped to Christina about that evening so now she was eagerly anticipating dinner as well. Both girls made it to dinner promptly at 5:45pm. The Marauders came in right after, looking mischieveous. She wondered how anyone could not know they were going to attempt to pull a prank. James gave her a quick kiss and a wink. The Great Hall continued to fill up and about twenty minutes into dinner, the boys finally stopped eating. Sirius looked around them. "Ok. It's as full as it's gonna get. Ready, Prongs? You have the biggest part."

James pulled out his wand and took a deep breath. "Just do it."

Sirius nodded. "Wormtail, some cover please."

Lily watched Peter wave his wand. Nothing appeared to have happened, but now the Marauders acted like no one else could see them. Remus and Sirius turned in their seats to face the Slytherin table. Remus looked over at Sirius and James. "James, you'll have about 30-45 seconds. Good luck."

James nodded and looked to be in deep concentration. Lily watched as both Remus and Sirius cast the same spell of some kind, waving their wands extravagantly. They finished holding their wands high above them. Her mouth dropped when she noticed the entire Slytherin table all stop eating and drinking, almost as if they were in some sort of trance. No one in the Great Hall seemed to have noticed, as most don't give attention to the Slytherins; Slughorn, their Head of House, usually just schmoozed up at the Professors' table so he didn't notice either. She immediately looked back at Remus and Sirius, who she could see were quickly losing strength at holding the spell. Their wands had even begun shaking.

That's when she realized James hadn't hesitated and was moving his wand quickly and deliberately in front of him in various patterns, mumbling under his breath. He began to pale considerably as he continued, but he never faltered. His wand movements became increasingly bigger, until finally, he waved his wand in a rather large and ornate way. His whole body seemed to visibly sag as he finished. Lily was unsure of what they had just done. Nothing appeared to have happened.

That was until Remus and Sirius dropped their wands. Peter had waved his wand again at about the same time, probably releasing whatever invisibility charm they must've been using. However, what shocked Lily the most was that every single Slytherin immediately took a sip of whatever drink was in front of them after being released from the trance. It only took a few minutes before turmoil ensued. Loud fits of laughter from all over the Great Hall soon began to follow.

Narcissa Black was the first to shriek. She leapt out of her seat with a horrendous look on her face. Her white blonde hair, normally left down and flowing around her, was suddenly neatly braided into two braids; her robes had been transfigured into a blue and white checkered dress with a white apron. When she touched something on the table, it immediately transfigured into a gray terrier that began barking like mad and running around her in a circle. As she began running around shrieking, Lily could easily tell her shoes had been changed to bright red. She had pulled out her wand and was continuously shrieking, "Finite Incantatem! Finite Incantatem!" to no avail.

Bellatrix Black wasn't acting all that different from her sister. She had practically started screaming bloody murder when her entire face and body had suddenly turned green. Her nose began to enlarge and Lily could see a humongous mole on the end of her nose all the way from where she was sitting. Her robes had transfigured to all black and the first thing she touched on the table transfigured into the biggest, ugliest broom Lily had ever seen. When Bellatrix tried to put it down, she couldn't. It was almost as if the broom was permanently stuck to her hand.

Severus Snape had suddenly turned stoic and sat stiffly in his seat. She watched his hair shrivel up into what looked like straw and change into a nasty yellow color. If he could have seen his face, he would have noticed it had gone stark white and he now had two rosy circles on his cheeks. His robes had transfigured into a pair of overalls and a flannel. When he stood up, he suddenly tripped and fell over backwards, sending straw, which seemed to be accumulating in his clothes, everywhere.

Antonin Dolohov's already sandy-colored hair seemed to grow longer. But that wasn't the end of it— his entire body seemed to be growing sandy-colored hair in bulk. His robes changed to a matching ginger color. He started running around attempting to pull off all of the growing fur. As he was running, it became quite clear that he also had developed a long tail, which could be seen swishing around behind him, colliding and knocking over everything that came into its path on its own accord.

Lucius Malfoy had shot out of his seat quickly, but his movements soon became rather stiff and robotic. His entire face and body had turned into a ghastly silver, which clashed horrendously with his white blonde hair. His robes quickly became silver in color as well, but Lily swore she saw the teensiest bit of red where she supposed his heart was supposed to be.

Every single other Slytherin had shrunk about two feet and their hair had all began changing randomly into colors of the rainbow, except for three. Regulus Black and two of his friends, whom Lily didn't know, also shrunk about two feet, but they had other changes. Their hair had been changed to a fiery red color; they suddenly were completely freckled; their robes had transfigured into jeans and muscle t-shirts; and they had hopped onto their seats and begun singing in high-pitched voices, "We represent the Lollipop Guild…"

Lily had tears in her eyes because she was laughing so hard. Lauren and Christina were beside themselves with laughter. The Marauders, however, were merely grinning evilly and looking incredibly proud over the havoc they had created. The entire Great Hall had erupted in hysterical laughter. The Wizard of Oz was a huge joke within the wizarding community and was a well-known story. Lily even noticed that the professors were having a hard time containing themselves. Professor Slughorn was actually laughing outright, but he had at least gotten up to try and organize the crazed Slytherins, being their Head of House. Unfortunately, what he had to say didn't help matters. Lily knew that it would take a while for anyone to counter what the Marauders had done because it had been a potion that had created the effects. She could hear him telling everyone loudly that unfortunately, no spell, without extensive research, would rectify the change so they should just quit trying. It was a potion and would therefore have to wear off on its own.

Professor McGonagall, who Lily thought looked like she had expected something on this scale after the Marauders had been uncharacteristically quiet for a month, got up from her seat reluctantly and made her way over to the Marauders. No one really needed to ask where she was heading. As she passed the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, everyone began laughing and whispering about what she was gonna do. When McGonagall finally was standing in front of the Marauders, Lily could tell she was really trying hard not to smile. "So do you have anything to say for yourselves?"

She was mainly eyeing James and Sirius who both began stuttering something about practicing Transfiguration which only seemed to frustrate her, but Lily soon learned that there was more to Remus that meets the eye. She watched as he pulled a face at the guys behind McGonagall and waved his wand behind her so she couldn't see. Lily immediately began giggling at the illusion charm he cast. Now, as a backdrop to the Slytherin table, there was a giant illusion of the Emerald City on the far wall.

The Great Hall erupted in renewed laughter. McGonagall wearily got the boys to stand up and began to walk them out of the Great Hall. That's when Lily saw an extremely angry green Bellatrix running toward all five of them. The whole Great Hall hushed as she shouted, "I'm going to get you for this, Potter!"

To everyone's surprise, James just started laughing loudly. Sirius just scowled and grudgingly pulled out some money to hand over to James. Remus and Peter were chuckling into their hands. Lily had no idea what was so funny, but then she looked back at Bellatrix. She looked sort of strange. Wait, almost all of the Slytherins looked sort of strange. That's when she realized those words must've been a trigger to some sort of dormant charm.

Bellatrix suddenly turned and began approaching the Slytherin table menacingly. Narcissa was now huddled, holding her terrier, in between Severus, Lucius, and Antonin, and every other Munchkin Slytherin was backing away from her in terror. That's when Bellatrix pointed her finger over at Narcissa and shouted, "I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too!" before cackling madly. All of the Munchkin Slytherins began running around screaming things like, "The Wicked Witch will get us!" and "Where's Glinda? She'll protect us!" Narcissa was clicking her heels together shouting "There's no place like home!" over and over while her three bodyguards were looking at Bellatrix menacingly and taunting her to try it. The charm only seemed to last a minute or so, and when the Slytherins all suddenly stopped behaving that way, they all looked immensely confused and angry so Lily assumed they remembered everything they had just done. The hilarity of it all did not go unnoticed by the Great Hall though. Lily, who had been immersed in renewed laughter with everyone else, noticed that Bellatrix actually looked embarrassed for once as she slunk back toward the Slytherin table.

Professor McGonagall had just sighed and somehow had continued to maneuver the Marauders toward the Great Hall entrance. However, when she wasn't looking, all of them sort of bowed to everyone behind her, leaving the whole place giggling wildly. However, no one was prepared for Sirius waving his wand grandly a final time. Suddenly, tons of biscuits on the tables had been transfigured into about a hundred or more flying fireworks, creating both a spectacle and utter chaos in the Great Hall. Lily saw James turn to Sirius angrily, and she frowned when she realized this hadn't been a part of the plan. Sirius had become incredibly pale and seemed to be breathing heavier from his second large use of magic, although he seemed to be listening to James, seeing as he now had a guilty expression on his face as James scolded him. Lily was surprised when she heard Professor Dumbledore finally speak, "Mr. Potter."

Everyone in the Great Hall fell into silence, with the exception of the crazy fireworks twisting and dive-bombing about. Lily saw James reluctantly turn away from scolding Sirius to look back at the professors' table, almost guiltily. All eyes were on the two, wondering what was going on as Professor Dumbledore rarely singled someone out so publicly. Dumbledore just sighed before continuing in a more normal tone, "James, I must ask you to get rid of the fireworks. I believe the transfigured potions have been enough for the evening."

Lily was surprised Dumbledore didn't just get rid of them himself, but then she remembered what he had said the last time she and James had been in his office, about how he even had trouble countering what James and Sirius were able to come up with at times. She figured he didn't really have the time to try and figure it out, considering all of the chaos that he had to deal with because of the potions and knowing that the spell used would likely have some sort of trick to it so they couldn't be destroyed using traditional means. She turned to see an already pale James step forward slightly, sending a sideways glare to Sirius. He took a deep breath before twirling his wand in a large circle, mumbling an incantation. He eventually stopped moving his wand, leaving it pointing high at the fireworks, but continued to mutter a spell. Lily became concerned when she saw his wand arm begin to shake, but he put his other hand out in front of him as well, and the shaking of his wand lessened. The fireworks then all seemed to stop in mid-air. James continued to mumble something as he held the fireworks in suspension, before swirling his wand like a lasso and bringing it down hard in front of him. She could feel an instant rush of magic being forced throughout the room, as could others because everyone was now muttering in astonishment and surprise. All of the fireworks suddenly began to disappear with a series of pops.

Lily watched James practically drop from the exertion of not only that piece of magic, but the magic he had done in the prank. Transfiguring one potion took a lot of magic, but to have just transfigured about a 100 or more, he was bound to be in need of restoration promptly. Remus had grabbed him by the arm and was pretty much holding him up. Professor McGonagall quickly ushered the four of them out of the Great Hall.

Professor Dumbledore was speaking to everyone still, but Lily wasn't really listening. She just wanted to get out of there and see how James was, but Lauren suddenly stopped her. "Lily, I think Dumbledore wants to speak to you. You should wait. Besides, McGonagall will want to give them some punishing too, no matter how much she enjoyed that display."

Lily instantly looked back towards Professor Dumbledore, who must've finished speaking to everyone about going back to their common rooms, seeing as he beckoned her over when she turned to look. Lily sighed before nodding goodbye to Lauren and Christina, who had gotten up to leave toward Gryffindor tower with everyone else. Lily made her way over to Dumbledore. "Yes, Sir?"

Professor Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling in amusement so she knew whatever he had to say wasn't going to be bad. "Do tell James to stop by when he's feeling better. I am very interested to know about his transfigurations. I must admit I am rather impressed."

Lily chuckled at him. For being Headmaster, he sure seemed to enjoy the prank that had just caused mayhem in his school. There was definitely more to Dumbledore than anyone must know. "Sure. After finally finding out what they had been trying to do, I just realized that the book I bought a few months ago must've been an enormous help. It has a couple chapters regarding compound potions that accomplish more than one thing instead of having to take more than one potion. Other than that, I have no idea."

Dumbledore nodded, his eyes still full of amusement. "Also, please inform him that perhaps Professor McGonagall does not need to continue teaching him and Sirius large-scale transfiguration magic? Apparently, they have caught on quite easily to the idea."

Lily's eyes widened, but she eventually nodded back with a sigh. So that was one of the things he had been learning with Professor McGonagall! That was why he had considered this prank practice; they were just doing it to see if they actually could. "That I will, Professor."

He nodded to her before walking back towards the other professors and the irate Slytherins. Lily made her way to the infirmary, but quickly noticed no one was there. She frowned. She had thought that was where James might have needed to go. She then made her way to the Heads' Dorm, but soon found he wasn't there either. She decided to wait for him out in the common room because he had to come back eventually.

She didn't have to wait long. About fifteen minutes later, James made his way through the sphinx gargoyle. When he saw her waiting for him, he gave her a small smile. "Hey, you. Was that fun or what?"

Lily shook her head, but she still couldn't help giving him a smile. He was still incredibly pale and looked like doing anything that required the slightest bit of energy would take an extra ten years to complete, but at least he was in good spirits. "That was fantastic. However, I can't believe you did this to yourself! Why in the world would you attempt to do something like this?"

James plopped down next to her on the couch and sagged into it sighing. "It was worth it though. To get them back for what they did to you back in October."

Lily frowned. "You did not just do all that for me, did you?"

He chuckled weakly. "No. It really was practicing large-scale magic and complex potion transfigurations, but that was part of the reason I made sure to give Bella and Malfoy the worst transfigurations."

Lily laughed. "Dumbledore mentioned that he feels McGonagall no longer needs to teach you large-scale transfiguration magic because he reckons you've got the hang of it."

James sighed and looked over at her concerned. "He spoke to you after?"

Lily nodded. "Yeah, but just to say that and to tell you to come and talk to him about the magic you did. He said he was impressed so it can't be that bad. Although being Head Boy, you shouldn't be given so much freedom to cause chaos just because you're smart."

James didn't seem to share her view that Dumbledore was being lenient. "Oh, trust me. He'll definitely have a few words to say about it. McGonagall did laugh with us about the whole thing as Dumbledore probably will too, but she also scolded us for doing something like that. We each have three detentions with Filch— Monday, Wednesday, Friday— the first week we're back from break. I'd say that's pretty tame though. I was expecting more. I think she wants to win the quidditch cup so she let us off easy so I could schedule a lot of quidditch practices before the Ravenclaw match in the beginning of February."

Lily gave him a look. "You're going to have to make sure you catch up on homework over break then. You're already a bit behind because of the prank."

James groaned and closed his eyes. "Don't remind me. I'm not even bothering to study for the couple of mid-terms we have tomorrow. All I want to do is sleep."

Lily was watching him. It was odd to see him with no energy, and she was a bit worried for him. "Did you take anything? A restorative potion?"

He nodded. "Both Sirius and I took one. Madam Pomfrey wanted both of us to stay, but we promised we'd go back to our rooms and not do anything that requires too much exertion over the next twelve hours."

Lily sighed and grabbed his arm, pulling on it slightly. "Come here. Give me a kiss and then go get some sleep. I can patrol on my own tonight."

James opened his eyes and gave her a smile. "I can patrol with you. It's just walking."

Lily rolled her eyes. "So stubborn."

He laughed and wrapped one of his arms around her, bringing her flush against him. He leaned over and nuzzled her neck, breathing in her sweet scent as he hugged her. Her lips soon found his and she kissed him for a few seconds before pulling back suddenly, saying, "Now, go get some rest!"

James growled at her words and continued to hold her where she was. This was the first time the two of them had been truly alone for a while. "No."

Lily chuckled at the defiant look on his face. She tried to compromise, considering she was still worried about him, "If I sit out here with you, will you get some rest?"

He sighed, knowing that she knew she was going to win. "Maybe."

Lily smirked. "Good."

James reluctantly let her slide out of his arms. He watched as she conjured a pillow and summoned her book from the nearby study table, before pulling on him gently to lay down on the pillow she rested on her lap. "I'm not promising to wake you up for patrol though."

James rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. Before laying down, he took off his glasses and leaned over to kiss her once more, his hands in her soft hair. He lingered slightly, savoring finally having her lips against his for more than five seconds. "Night, Lily."

Lily smiled as she watched him finally lie down on the pillow while he sighed in frustration. She knew he'd be out in a matter of seconds, no matter how hard he was fighting to stay awake. She gently ran her fingers through his messy dark hair as he rested on her lap, her mind lingering both on James and her Charms textbook. She was happy about the entertainment value of the prank, but she was now realizing she had mid-terms in the morning and probably should've been studying.

The next day, things sort of returned to normal. There were a couple residual effects from the transfigured potions, which left students snickering. Bella still had a slightly green tinge to her skin while Lucius still looked a bit silver; Narcissa was unable to get rid of the braided hair just yet; Antonin kept coughing up fur balls; Severus left a trail of straw as he walked; Regulus and his two friends still had red hair; and all the other Slytherins' hair seemed to rest on one color of the rainbow, although it seemed to be fading back to their original color. Needless to say, the Slytherins were still incredibly angry over the prank and were likely plotting some type of retribution. Lily was happy and relieved that since the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match had taken place already, the revenge would not be unfair play in quidditch, which would have undoubtedly caused devastating injury to James, Sirius, or one of the other team members.

The rest of the students were in awe of the magical display the Marauders were able to pull off, particularly towards the end when both Sirius and James had completed huge feats of magic that they actually could see being done. James and Sirius were bombarded with questions about how they were able to tap into such magical power, and Lily was impressed with how they brushed them off and were not forthcoming with any information. She could tell they were happy the prank had gone so well, but they clearly didn't want to push their luck with teaching others anything about what they had done; not to mention that James had told her that not just any wizard or witch could have done what he and Sirius were able to do without extensive practice or natural talent.

Lily knew that James had met with Dumbledore after the morning mid-terms just before lunch and had come back looking like he had gone rounds with a dueling champion. When she had asked him about it, he just sighed and said Dumbledore was unyielding in his search for knowledge, need for respect, and interest in making proper choices. She wasn't entirely sure what he meant by that, but she sensed it had something to do with James telling him extensively about the magic he had used while also being put in his place for doing the prank to begin with. Topping that off with his inability to lie to the man, Lily was sure it hadn't been very fun. Lily couldn't help but shake her head at the authority Dumbledore still managed to have when he seemed to be just as mischievous as the Marauders at times.

James was gone for the evening for a last quidditch practice. After he had showered, the two of them began their patrol. That night was utter chaos, seeing as students were going home the next afternoon. Lily was slightly alarmed by the number of students out and about because she had thought that more students would have been studying for the remaining mid-terms in the morning, but James had just patted her on the back and told her with a smile that not everyone was like her. They must've taken away forty points by the end of their patrol. James had even resorted to opening the Map to make sure everyone was actually in their dormitories before they retired to the Heads' Dorm.

James actually looked pained when he told her that he really shouldn't spend time with her that night since he had to study for the Herbology mid-term in the morning because he hadn't read anything for the past two weeks and had gotten by with homework by lucky chance. Lily gave him a look, clearly understanding his lucky chance actually meant copying from Remus, but she told him she had to pack and do a couple things before tomorrow anyway. She gave him a kiss before leaving him to study in the common room.

After about an hour and a half, Lily felt she was sufficiently packed, had cleaned her room, put together her stuff for the morning, and had managed to go through her shortened outlines for Herbology, DADA, and Arithmancy for the tests in the morning. She sighed before heading out to see how James was doing, seeing as he wasn't necessarily running at 100% yet because of yesterday. She opened her door quietly and smiled when she could see his distinctly messy hair sticking up from the back of his head over the couch. She made her way over to him before wrapping her arms around his neck from behind. She noticed that he had thrown his school robe onto one of the armchairs, had undone his tie, had rolled up his sleeves, untucked his shirt, and was looking rather frustrated and tired. "Still sweating blood over Herbology?"

James was only slightly startled by her presence and reached up to run his hands over her forearms which were around his neck. "I've moved on to Divination, but I think the old standby idea of making it up is going to come in handy for the test. As for DADA, I'm hoping I already know the answers."

Lily chuckled as she pulled away so she could look at him better from behind the couch. "You'll probably do fine. You always do."

When James managed a glance at her, he was immediately drawn to the fact that she was only wearing her white blouse and skirt, with the blouse being distinctly ruffled, a button undone leaving him wanting to see more, and her sleeves rolled up. "All packed?"

She shrugged absently as she leaned on the back of the couch. "I think so. It's just for the weekend anyway. I also managed some extra studying."

He was staring at her again. Suddenly, Divination didn't really matter. With what must only be attributed to quidditch-like reflexes, he was able to push his books aside and grab her arm gently before pulling her over the back of the couch onto his lap. She was looking up at him completely startled and caught off guard as he wrapped his arms around her and situated her on his lap. "Ahhh, much better."

Lily just gave him a look. "And what exactly was that for?"

James shrugged innocently as he tightened his arms around her a bit. "I missed my girlfriend. She was standing too far away."

She rolled her eyes at him, but she was smiling. It had been five days since they had been this close to one another and she actually didn't mind very much. It was amazing how much she actually wanted him to touch her or hold her like this. "That's corny."

James chuckled into her neck as he hugged her to him, relishing in having her close to him after what seemed to be way too long. "So?"

Lily sighed, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. "I suppose it doesn't matter."

She felt his warm breath near her ear as he whispered, "Good."

Suddenly, his lips were on hers, and he was kissing her thoroughly. It was contact both of them had been craving, and it was almost as if neither cared about anything but the feelings they were creating in each other. James hands wandered over her back while Lily tilted her head to give him better access which James took full advantage of. She immediately began to notice that she couldn't get as close to him as she wanted to so she shifted on his lap without breaking their kiss.

James' head was cloudy, but he was vaguely aware that Lily was suddenly straddling him in her skirt. There was no doubt this was causing some sort of reaction in him, but it had happened before with her during a few of their more intense snogging sessions and he was sure she wouldn't care. His hands ran all the way down her back and when he brought them back up, his hands were touching the smooth skin of her lower back. He heard Lily's breath hitch at the contact and felt her hands tighten on his shirt to pull him closer.

Lily was overwhelmed with a need to touch him and as one of her hands twisted into the hair near the nape of his neck, the other unbuttoned his shirt. When James felt Lily's soft fingers glide down his bare chest and stomach, he groaned into her mouth. This was pure torture— good torture, but torture nonetheless. He also felt it was slightly unfair.

Lily was completely lost as James began kissing her with renewed fervor, his lips and tongue driving her to have not a single coherent thought. Then, he stopped suddenly and began kissing and licking down the side of her neck, slowly, almost savoring the taste of her. She felt one of his arms slide up her back so she could lean on his arm as he attacked her neck, her collarbone, the skin traveling down to her white lacy bra… Her mind suddenly realized that he had unbuttoned her blouse and his lips and tongue were following the trail of her bra as his free hand cupped one of her breasts before sliding gently over her bare stomach. She shivered at the touch.

She pulled his lips back up to hers and her fingers ran back over his bare shoulders before settling in his already very messy hair. His hands slid all across her bare skin before settling on her hips, holding her in place while his fingers gently caressed her lower back. Lily had no recollection of how long they kept kissing that way, but she ultimately realized that this could head to places she wasn't exactly ready for really quickly, seeing as both she and James were already aroused at the situation. She was definitely aware that she was about five seconds away from throwing all caution to the wind and letting him take full advantage of her, but she knew that this wasn't how she pictured that moment. At this thought, she reluctantly broke the kiss and said breathlessly, "James, we probably should stop."

He nodded at her words, equally breathless, but then one of his hands rose into her hair, pulling her lips against his once more. She felt his other hand slide around to her lower back, ultimately pulling her bare skin flush against his. At this contact, they both groaned a bit. Feeling his bare skin on hers was enough to drive her crazy.

James continued to kiss her, but knew she was right that they should stop. He wanted to romance her and treat her fantastically so despite wanting her like crazy at the moment, he knew there would be a much better time and place for that sort of thing. Oh, but he wanted to keep going. Almost unwillingly, his hands loosened their hold on her before fumbling with the sides of her blouse so he could cover her back up some. He broke the kiss, sliding his hands to her hips. The two of them were both breathing heavy as they remained close to one another. James kissed her cheek before adding, "You're right. We should stop."

Lily nodded, one of her hands slipping from around his neck to hold her blouse closed. She wasn't sure what to say as there were no real thoughts running through her head at the moment. She could tell he could've easily continued if she hadn't said anything, seeing as his body was definitely aroused. She had caused that reaction in him before, but considering boys couldn't help that sort of thing, she took it as more of a compliment that he found her attractive. She hoped he knew she was definitely aroused by him, but boys might not know these things. Like right now, his fingers were gently caressing her sides as he held onto her hips. It was driving her quite crazy, but he didn't seem to notice. "That was a bit out of control, but I liked it."

James' hazel eyes shot over to her and his devilish smile, which she actually was beginning to love seeing on him, appeared on his face. "Yeah, I suppose it was."

Lily gave him one of her smiles, but she was thinking about how close they had been to continuing. She didn't know if asking him about things at this moment would be ideal, seeing as she was still straddling him and their clothes were both half undone, but there really couldn't be a better time to ask. "Ummm, have you ever, you know?"

James glanced over at her, taken aback by her question. He hadn't expected her to be so bold, but then again this was Lily he was talking about— she always got straight to the point. He had seen two other girls in a similar state of undress, but despite maybe wanting to go a bit further with them, he never had because he thought the moment was supposed to be special with someone special. He knew Sirius teased him because he hadn't done the deed so to speak, but Sirius had many attachment problems from his horrible home life and rushed into physical relationships as a result so he didn't understand that James' Mum had raised James to be 'quite the gentleman.' His Mum's words, not his. "No. That's something that's supposed to be…well, it's supposed to mean something."

Lily was only slightly surprised by his response. Having dated him for about a month and a half now, she was well aware he was a gentleman and was respectful of her, but to hear him basically acknowledge that sex was supposed to be special actually made her want him all the more. "Me either."

James didn't really need her to admit that because he was pretty sure she hadn't. When she sighed, he seemed to sense from her expression that she was wondering about expectations now. He gently touched her face so he could look at her beautiful green eyes. "Hey, you know we don't have to do anything until you're ready, right? I would never ask you to do something you weren't ready to do. You can snog me all you want though. I really, really enjoy that."

When he saw her green eyes sparkle mischievously at him, he knew things were fine between them. She started giggling. "Cute, James. You have permission to snog me all you want as well."

He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her to him. Lily burrowed her face into his neck, still giggling. He felt her fingers play with the hair at the nape of his neck. He kissed her cheek before whispering in her ear, "I'm going to take you up on that, but for right now, I think both of us need to get some rest or we'll both be sleeping through our Herbology mid-term first thing."

Lily sighed. "Too right you are."

James felt her pull back and slide off his lap while he fought the urge to keep her that close to him. When she turned back to look at him licking her lips slightly, he had to pull his eyes away from her. She had no idea what she was doing to him. She gently tugged on part of his open shirt until he looked back over at her. "Night, James."

James was startled when she leaned over and kissed him goodnight, lingering a little. As he watched her walk away, her hips swaying slightly in her skirt as she walked, James barely managed to say, "Night, Lily."

He heard her bedroom door close and the only thing he could think about as he gathered his books was that he didn't remember a single thing he had read for Herbology or Divination. Tomorrow's tests were going to be interesting.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Home for the Holidays

James had never been more thankful to be going home. His morning had been awful. Despite having one hell of a distraction last night that went by the name of Lily, the perfectionist in him forced him to stay up into the night studying for his mid-terms that morning. He was now incredibly tired and wanted to do nothing but go home and crash. All in all, he supposed Herbology and DADA didn't go too bad, but Divination had been nothing but making stuff up. The problem with doing that, however, was that the only thing that he could think of in the near future that he could play with and destroy was his date with Lily and her parents tomorrow night. Because Professor Merryweather thrived on hearing horrific things that can happen in the future, James had thought of as many things that could go wrong on that date as possible. While he knew that the possibility of her parents not liking him enough to throw food at him were pretty slim, the more things he thought of that _could_ go wrong left him wondering whether her parents _would_ actually like him in general. He was sure Lily had mentioned him before, considering she used to find him quite annoying, frustrating, infuriating— well, there had been a number of words she had used when she used to yell at him. This left his insides churning with the idea that her family might already think less of him without having met him yet. The icing on the cake had been when he was supposed to be looking into a crystal ball with the Professor. He must've been acting so well because in the middle of his performance, she suddenly hugged him with sad eyes and said he was so brave for going to go on this date, knowing just what was in store for him. At least he was probably going to get a good grade.

Because of the whole crystal ball reading part of the test and because his last name started with P, he had been a part of the last group waiting to go in and now was late to meet with Professor McGonagall and Lily in the Entrance Hall to help see students out to the carriages that would take everyone to the Hogwarts Express in Hogsmeade. He made it to the Heads' Dorm, changed as quickly as possible, grabbed his satchel while throwing things into it, and walked hurriedly to where he was supposed to be.

As he approached, he saw Lily just standing around in jeans and a forest green zip up jumper. She kept glancing at her watch, her eyes lacking any enthusiasm whatsoever. He dropped his coat and satchel over near the wall before coming up behind her to give her a hug. "Hey, you. How's my girl?"

She had jumped a bit when he touched her, but relaxed and smiled when she realized it was just him. "Extremely bored. I have no idea why we even need to be here right now. You're late by the way. How was Divination?"

James made a face. He didn't think he should worry her about his concerns for the next night though. "Crappy, but I'll live. Why were we supposed to be here again?"

Lily sighed and gestured at a couple of students making their way out onto the grounds. "McGonagall told me to just stay here to make sure students were heading in the right direction. However, I'm beginning to think most students have already come through. I suppose we could wait a few more minutes for stragglers. We probably will end up catching the last carriage again."

James frowned. "Did you see Sirius or Lauren yet? We'll have to meet them somewhere. Remus said he has to go visit his parents for the weekend instead of camping at my house, but he's coming back to Hogwarts for the rest of break like you are."

She nodded. "Yeah, I saw them. Sirius was with Remus and told me to tell you he'd meet us in front of the Three Broomsticks. I told Lauren when I saw her. I almost missed her though because she was walking with a bunch of Ravenclaws. She was in deep conversation with a brunette."

James nodded absently. "That was probably Lauren's best friend, Natasha. Tasha is like another younger sister, seeing as I have to live with the both of them giggling everywhere when she comes to visit."

Lily laughed. "You're mean."

He just smiled. "Nah, I'm honest. Why do girls travel with other girls anyway? It's like you live in packs."

She rolled her eyes. "We do not." But then, she thought about it some more before adding, "Ok, we do a little bit, but it's more to not be alone."

James looked at his watch. "Do you think we could head outside now? The halls were pretty empty as I came down here. I really feel like we would be waiting around for no reason. McGonagall will understand."

Lily just shrugged and went to grab her coat and satchel. James did the same before taking her hand and heading outside. They both were stopped briefly by Professor McGonagall and then they hopped into one of the carriages. When they finally reached Hogsmeade, the two of them made their way to the Three Broomsticks to wait out front. Lily frowned when she saw James' eyes darting around them nervously. She hated that he seemed so on edge whenever he was out in public, but she supposed she would be that way too if she was dealing with what he had to deal with.

Sirius was already waiting for them. "Hey, guys. Remus already apparated away. He said to say goodbye though. Now, we're just waiting on Lauren."

James nodded while he continued to glance around, ultimately holding his curious gaze somewhere across the way. Lily shrugged. "She should be here soon. She was with some Ravenclaws."

Sirius shook his head sadly. "It's so sad. My poor little Gryffindor sister is being brainwashed by Tasha, the evil Ravenclaw again. She should know by now that Ravenclaws aren't really smart, but instead are actually a little crazy in the head."

Lily shook her head at him with a smile. "Ravenclaws are very smart, Black."

Sirius just winked at her. "Then, why oh why are you, a Gryffindor, the top of the year, Red? And come to think of it, why are James, myself, and Remus not far behind you?"

Lily was about to respond, but her attention was taken away when James suddenly let go of her hand and reached for his wand, pointing it at someone across the way. Lily and Sirius immediately followed the direction of whatever spell he had cast and were surprised to see a little old lady stop suddenly and turn into a man with a wooden leg and beady black eyes. He approached the three of them casually, before saying, "Well done, laddie."

James scowled at him. "You're the one who has been following me whenever I'm out in public, haven't you? Couldn't you have at least said something, Alastor?"

Alastor Moody shrugged and leaned on his walking staff while he remained with the group. "Took you long enough to figure it out, but that truth spell was pretty impressive. I don't think I've seen it before. Where's the little one?"

James shrugged, still looking a tad frustrated. "Well, with all of the pranks we've done, you need to have a spell that will counter the effects of a properly prepared potion instantaneously so I made one. And she'll be here soon."

Sirius jutted in, "Hey Moody, are you staying with us or something?"

Moody just nodded. "I have to keep an eye on you three, seeing as how you all are the spawns of Satan and will ultimately get yourselves into more trouble than I could think of while being home alone for a few days. I remember last Christmas. Green underwear, wasn't it?"

James snickered while Sirius scowled. James nodded to Lily. "Lily, this is Alastor Moody, that Auror friend of my parents. Alastor, this is Lily. And no, you cannot accompany us when we go on our muggle date tomorrow night."

Alastor just shrugged, unconcerned. "Good. I thought watching the two of you in Hogsmeade a while back was enough. At least you both didn't snog the whole time. That would have made my day a _lot_ longer."

Sirius and Lily laughed while James rolled his eyes. He was about to retort when he saw Lauren come out of nowhere and practically leap on Alastor's back. "Uncle Al! What are you doing here?"

James and Sirius howled in laughter while Lily smiled amusedly at the obvious look of astonishment on Alastor's face. He, in turn, scowled. "That'll be enough out of you, lass."

As a laughing Lauren let go of him, Sirius couldn't help but say, "Where was the 'constant vigilance,' Moody? What if Lauren was someone else?"

Moody smacked Sirius upside his head, none too gently, and watched amusedly as Sirius rubbed his head. "Watch yourself, boy."

James sighed. "Well, now that everyone's here, I'm going to go unseal the house. I'll be right back."

He stepped away from Lily before disappearing silently. Moody just watched on curiously, his black eyes widening. "So that's why I had no idea where you both disappeared to when you left Hogsmeade. I hadn't heard anything and one minute you were there, and the other you were both gone. I didn't know he could apparate silently."

Lily shrugged. "I was as surprised as you were when we disappeared then. He didn't warn me at all. The silent thing is interesting though. I hadn't noticed that before. What does he mean by unsealing his house?"

Sirius sighed. "After everything that's happened, only someone related to him can get into the house initially to activate apparition allowances or Floo connections. Lauren could do it too, but she can't apparate til March."

Lily frowned. "Doesn't his house have all these other protections on it? Why does he need to do that?"

Moody answered this time, "There are many old protections on the Potter home, but a skilled witch or wizard could probably counter them if they were to research them enough. Although the Potter home is unplottable and it would be next to impossible for someone to even locate the home to try something, it is better to be extra safe. Constant vigilance."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I knew that phrase would come into the speech eventually." Alastor went to smack him again, but Sirius ducked. "I learned my lesson the first time, Moody."

James suddenly was walking towards them. "Hey, it's all set."

Lauren looked at him curiously. "Why didn't you just apparate right here?"

James frowned. "I didn't want to apparate right on top of one of you if any of you had moved. I just went to the side of the Three Broomsticks. Anyway, apparition is unlocked. I added you to the list, Lily, but since you don't know where it is yet, I'll have to side-apparate you this first time."

Moody nodded. "Alright, you four first. I'll follow last."

Sirius just nodded and grabbed Lauren's hand before disappearing with a crack. James did the same with Lily, and when Lily opened her eyes, she was standing in a huge living room with an extremely large fireplace. Moody followed with a crack. Lauren and Sirius said their goodbyes to Lily and told her they'd see her tomorrow before heading up to the West Wing of the house. Moody just waved at all of them before heading up to one of the guest bedrooms in the East Wing of the house.

James sighed as he turned his attention back to Lily. "So…welcome to Potter Manor. I'll give you a proper tour when you come back on Sunday, before we floo back to Hogwarts, but if you ever need to get away from your family, you can just apparate here."

Lily was just looking around in amazement. The living room they were standing in had to be one of the most elaborate living rooms she had ever been in. The fireplace was about double in size to that of a normal one, probably for flooing, and was done in elegantly carved stone; the furniture was very old-fashioned and looked expensive; there were ornate tapestries, rugs, moving pictures, and odd magical things all over. She could probably remain fascinated in this room for hours and still not have gone through everything. "Wow."

James just laughed. "Most of the decorations and furniture have been around for generations; my parents didn't do much updating as a vigil to my grandparents and…well, for other reasons. It's really not that different from any other house except for its size. The East Wing is usually completely unoccupied so technically, we use only half the house and the first floor."

Lily smiled at him. "It's beautiful and a tour will be lovely when I have more time, but I should get going. My parents are expecting me."

James just nodded, pulling her closer and covering her lips with his for a few seconds. "Ok, I'll see you when you apparate here tomorrow before the dinner. Bye, Lils."

Lily nodded and gave him a small smile. "Bye, James."

And with a crack, she was gone. James sighed as he looked around the now empty living room with sad eyes. It was odd being home for the holidays without his parents here to greet him. He supposed he could be here alone which would be way worse. At least he had Sirius and Lauren to keep him company. Moody would probably make himself invisible and wouldn't intrude. He was sure Moody was only there per Dumbledore's request, just in case the three of them needed to leave the house for any reason. He was about to plop down on the couch and wallow a bit when there was a sudden crack behind him. James immediately glanced over and saw Reeny beaming up at him. "James is finally home! Master Andrew and Miss Judy wish to speak with you at your earliest convenience. They wish to speak to Miss Lauren as well, but they requested you first, Sir."

James sighed. He had forgotten about his parents' portraits. How awful of him. They had been sleeping when he had been home for the funeral. It took a couple of weeks for portraits to awake the first time. He supposed he was luckier than most people, to have portraits of his parents and family that were gone so that he could still talk to them whenever he wanted. However, nobody could understand that it sometimes felt worse because it was more of a constant reminder that they were gone. He supposed the feeling of loss would lessen eventually. James nodded to Reeny. "Tell them I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Thank you, Reeny."

Reeny nodded and disappeared with a crack. James reluctantly made his way up to his room to drop off his satchel and mentally prepared himself to talk with his dead parents. He only had wanted to come home to check over the work the house elves had been doing and their progress with going through his parents' things. Well, that and to go through his Dad's study some more to finish learning about his family history just so he was positive about what would happen if something were to happen to him and he could make proper arrangements. Now with his parents' portraits and the date tomorrow night, it looked like the weekend would be more mentally exhausting than he had originally thought. Hopefully, Sirius would keep things from getting _too_ serious around here.

Lily apparated into her backyard with a crack. She was about to make her way to the backdoor when she heard a growl from behind her. She immediately turned around and saw a rather large German Shepherd running towards her fiercely. She hardened her tone and her expression with her hand out, "Thor! Stay!"

The dog immediately slowed to a halt at the command, sniffing wildly and watching on warily. Lily just smiled at him. "How's my favorite dog?"

The dog was now wagging his tail like crazy and jumping around her all happy go lucky once he recognized her voice and scent. He licked her hand a few times and followed her towards the house. She gave him a few pats before heading inside to greet her parents. Hopefully, Petunia wouldn't be by until tomorrow.

Her hope was ill sated. As soon as she walked in, she saw both Petunia and her mother sitting at the table discussing something over tea. "Hi Mum. Petunia."

Her mother leapt up to greet her in a hug while Petunia just nodded at her curtly. "My little girl! I'm so excited to have you home!"

Lily forced a smile at her mother and tried to avoid looking over at Petunia, who had never responded to her letters over the last two weeks even though she had specifically told Greta to hang around at the house for a few days after each one just in case she would write back. "It's good to be home. Is Dad still at Oxford?"

Her mother nodded. "I got off early today so I could meet with your sister and welcome you home. Your father should be here soon, and he promised to be free for the weekend that you'll be home. Why again are you not staying the full two weeks dear?"

Lily stole a quick glance at Petunia, but said, "Oh, it's just better for the Heads to be at school over break. Besides, a lot of my friends are staying so I thought, as it's our last year there, we could spend Christmas together."

Lily supposed that she wasn't exactly lying, but when she saw Petunia smirk at her from behind their mother, she knew that this was going to be a longer weekend than she had originally thought. She sighed before continuing, "So what were you meeting with Petunia about Mum? The wedding?"

Mrs. Evans immediately gestured for Lily to sit down before preparing her a cup of tea so she could join the discussion properly. "Of course, dear! So much to plan. Petunia, why don't you tell your sister about some of the things we were talking about?"

Lily reluctantly shifted her gaze to Petunia, who was now frowning. Petunia sighed before speaking somewhat forcefully, "Well, I already told you about how I wanted pink for my bridesmaids. Eileen, you know my best friend, is going to be my Maid of Honor, and you will be a bridesmaid with Marge, Vernon's sister. Vernon has three of his good friends as his groomsmen. We were just discussing flowers, but I think I want pink rosebuds. I think the majority of the wedding will be in pink and white."

Lily met her sister's snotty gaze, knowing that the main reason for so much pink was to make her look as ugly as possible with her red hair. She forced herself to remain civil even though she really wanted to make a fuss. "That sounds lovely. You could even do a vanilla cake with pink icing. I remember you always liked strawberries, and you could use them on the cake as well."

Mrs. Evans nodded smiling. "That would be perfect, Lily! Don't you think so, Pet?"

Petunia frowned, but it looked forced. Lily thought she must have already been thinking about something like that which meant that Petunia was being forced to agree with her for once. "Yes, I think that would be fine. I'll have to speak with a baker."

The rest of the afternoon was more of that. Lily thought her fake smile would be permanently stuck to her face as she chatted with her mother and sister about wedding plans. It was mainly an act for her mother. She knew her mother hated it when the two of them fought. Petunia was making it extremely difficult though. There were a bunch of snotty remarks and when Petunia brought up that she wanted to see no magic whatsoever occurring on her special day, Lily thought she was going to smack her. She restrained herself, but she knew if there were more moments like that, particularly at the dinner tomorrow night, accidental magic might just occur. However, she was pretty sure that James would be able to keep her calm.

At dinner that evening, her father was the first to bring up James, seeing as she had mentioned she was bringing a date to the dinner the next night in her reply letter a while back. "So Lilypad, tell me about this boy we're meeting tomorrow."

Petunia stopped eating abruptly and was now looking at Lily with cold, furious eyes. That's when Lily realized that her parents must not have mentioned her bringing a date. It also meant that the letters she had sent to Petunia with Greta had never been opened. She wondered why her sister was so surprised though— their three cousins were all supposedly bringing dates so it would be likely to assume that she would as well. "Umm, his name is James Potter, and he and I are Head Boy and Girl this year. We've been seeing each other for a while. I'm sure you'll like him, Dad."

Petunia's pale eyes gleamed in triumph. "Isn't that the same boy you were grumbling about constantly over the last few years for being nothing more than a troublemaker and an annoyance to you?"

Lily frowned at her sister, knowing full well that her Dad would now be a bit concerned about James and would not stop asking questions until he was appeased that his daughter was not being taken advantage of. "Well, yes, but he's grown up quite a bit. He's Head Boy, and the only way you can get that title is if you are respectful, smart, and moderately well-behaved. I'm sure Dad got into some trouble with his friends back when he was growing up. It's just what boys do."

Her Dad laughed while her mother smiled at Lily's words. Her mother nodded at her husband pointedly. "You have no idea what I used to find him and his friends doing. They were definitely rowdy young teenagers."

Lily was sure her sister was still quietly furious, especially when she added, "Yes, well, I'm sure he will have some sort of back-story, seeing as Vernon is not going to be subjected to this magic nonsense if I can help it?"

Lily nodded, but inside she was panicking. She had forgotten to go over that sort of stuff with James. She was extremely glad that he had a knack for thinking quickly on his feet. He was definitely going to need it with Petunia pushing his buttons. It was clear she couldn't wait for a chance to trip him up and make him look like an idiot. "Well, Aunt Gill and Uncle Rob don't know anything about it either. Things will be fine and Vernon should remain woefully ignorant of magic."

Her mother just shrugged off the conversation about magic with a wave of her hand. "Nothing to worry about, my dears. I'm sure we can stay to other topics, but seeing as we all know about magic at this table, Lily, tell us what you have been up to this past semester and more about this boy before you have to switch gears tomorrow night."

Lily told them about basic stuff, regarding classes and such, leaving out anything about the Slytherins attacking her. She briefly mentioned stuff about her and James, mainly how they had started to get along as they worked together as Head Boy and Girl and how they had started dating sometime in early November. Her father drilled her about James though so she also mentioned how he played quidditch and then had to fumble through a weak explanation about the game, talked about his friends, and ended with saying that he was rather talented with magic. Petunia had been ignoring her for most of her story, but her eyes had risen warily to meet Lily's when she had said this. "How do you mean?"

Lily shrugged. She didn't really want to go into how pure-bloods sometimes know more about magic initially and that he is the last heir to a very old and powerful pure-blood line. She also did not want to bring up his parents, who had probably encouraged him learning all sorts of magic even before he made it to Hogwarts. "He's just really powerful and can cast very difficult spells. So can I sometimes, but he is just naturally very talented. He reads just as much as I do so he knows much more magic than is taught in the curriculum. You'd be surprised about all the magic we don't learn about in a classroom. I've picked up on quite a bit from my extra books as well. I remember him saying something about a magical library in his home too."

Her Mum and Dad seemed appeased. Her mother patted her arm. "He sounds lovely, dear. You speak very highly of him. I hope he thinks this highly of you."

Lily blushed. "Well, I would hope so, seeing as he used to ask me out repeatedly for the last four years."

Her Mum laughed. "Then, why child did you not take him up on his offer before?"

Lily just shrugged with a sad smile. "I'm not sure anymore, but at least I finally said yes."

The rest of the dinner seemed quieter after that. Lily knew that Petunia kept looking over at her in irritation. She was sure this was because tomorrow all eyes were supposed to be on her and her fiancée, but now her limelight was shared by Lily and her new boyfriend. A part of Lily wished she hadn't made her angry, but the other part was secretly glad that James would be there to make sure she actually had a good time. She was sure he wouldn't give up until she was smiling genuinely. If he hadn't been going, she was positive Aurors and Obliviators would be arriving at the restaurant tomorrow night sometime during dinner. She was well aware that she had a slight temper.

Lily agreed to help her Mum with the dishes, although she did so with a little magic so the two of them could talk privately. Her Mum looked over at her questioningly. "What is it, dear?"

Lily sighed, but made sure her sister and her Dad were still talking in the living room, before saying, "I just wanted to let you know something about James without Petunia hearing, seeing as she might bring it up to be callous."

Her Mum frowned, but nodded. "I can see how you might be worried about her doing something like that. Do tell."

"James' parents… Well, they were something called Aurors, which are kind of like magical police, and they were killed in the line of duty a couple months back. So, it would be nice if you and Dad didn't bring up his family tomorrow. This is his first time home without them, and I'm sure it may be on his mind. Not exactly something he would want to discuss right away. I'm sure you can ask him about them another time."

Her Mum's brow furrowed. "His parents just gone? Just like that? How horrible. Is he doing ok? You must have just got together after it all happened too. I'm glad he has you to give him a reason to smile."

Lily nodded. "He's doing much better. It's just I have a feeling that, especially this weekend while he is at home, it may not be the best topic."

Her Mum tsk tsked. "Well, you let me know if he needs anything, being all alone in that house of his."

Lily gave her Mum a smile. "He's not alone. He also lives with his cousin and a friend. He has an adult staying with him for the weekend too."

Her Mum just nodded. "Well, still. I look forward to meeting him tomorrow. Any man that can make you smile and have concern for him is alright by me."

Lily gave her Mum a hug. "I'm going to have to go shopping tomorrow, for some Christmas presents. Did you need anything?"

Her Mum shrugged. "No, but you can take the car, dear. Don't be gone too long though. We miss your face around here."

Lily nodded and made her way out into the living room for more forced conversation with her sister. Her Dad always made her laugh and smile so maybe it wouldn't be all bad.

Lily was in tears late the next afternoon. She was sitting in her Mum's car and had pulled over to the side of the road. She was all dressed up in her beautiful emerald green dress, high heels, hair all done up, and had done her make-up, which had to be running across her face by now. She tried to look back on what must have gone wrong over the last 24 hours, but the only thing that it could be attributed to was Petunia, who had not stopped trying her utmost to break her during the whole visit. Lily had been the epitome of nice, civil, and respectful. She had tried— really, really tried.

The rest of last night had been strained, but she had kept a polite smile as she spoke with her Mum, Dad, and sister. However, when she excused herself to go to sleep, her sister had done so as well. Needless to say, the two of them argued heatedly, although quietly, about any and everything as they made their way upstairs to Lily's bedroom. Petunia was furious about James coming to the dinner and made snide comments about how he better be on his toes while Lily finally let her have it about the wedding and Vernon. Nobody messed with Lily when she was angry. Petunia, with fear all over her face, had only left when every single piece of glass in Lily's bedroom had exploded. Her parents had no idea any of this had occurred, seeing as Lily had been smart enough to cast a silencing charm on her room the moment she had come back earlier in the afternoon.

Lily had tossed and turned all night, but had gotten up hopeful that the day would go better because she was going to go shopping alone. However, all of her hopes were dashed when she realized that both she AND Petunia were going to go shopping together. It was hell. They both tried to be somewhat civil, seeing as Lily had the keys and could just apparate away at any moment leaving Petunia stranded, but to no avail. It ended in a rather large blowout in the parking lot where Lily had thrown her the keys and apparated back home with all of the presents she had gotten. She hadn't cried at the time because she had been in a boiling rage, but instead, had tried to get ready as calmly as possible, although she had found it very difficult to relax. Petunia had arrived home about 45 minutes later, absolutely furious with Lily, and had stormed into her room in a fit. The two of them exchanged harsh words heatedly until Lily saw her Mum in her doorway. Her Mum tried to talk some sense into the both of them, but it hadn't seemed to be helping. Petunia kept glaring at her, and it became too much for Lily. She just sighed, grabbed her Mum's keys from Petunia's clutches, and told her mother she just needed a little bit and would be back with James for the dinner. Then, right in front of them, she apparated out to the car and just drove away.

Lily had finally succumbed to her tears and pulled over. It just wasn't fair. Why couldn't her sister love her for being her? What made Lily so hard to get along with just because she could do magic? It's not like Lily had ever hexed her sister with her wand. Any magic that had happened around the two of them over the years had always been accidental, indirectly caused by Petunia riling Lily enough that she lost control of her anger. Now, she was all alone and had no idea why she ran off. She just knew at the time that she had needed some space and had to get away. She now was in a car in the middle of winter in the middle of nowhere with no winter coat. At least she had a wand.

She carefully wiped her tears from her face, before using a cleaning spell to get rid of her make-up stains and somewhat clean the front of her dress. She conjured a cup of cold water and used it to try and get her face to not look like she had been crying for the past half hour. When she finally felt presentable enough, she quickly conjured a coat very much like her own before getting out of her car and apparating to the one person who could probably make her feel better— James. She might be a little early, but that didn't matter. She landed with a crack in his living room and took off her jacket before plopping down onto his couch with her head in her hands. She was still sniffling. This was awful.

She heard someone coming down the stairs, and the person slowed when he saw her. "Lily?"

Lily just nodded at his voice. James made his way into the living room slowly, concerned when he heard her sniffling into her hands. When he got a good look at her, he noticed she was all dressed up in a beautiful green dress that clung snugly to her petite frame and fell to her calves while her hair was all pinned up with a few strands hanging around all over. "Now, why in the world would someone so beautiful be looking so sad?"

Lily chuckled weakly into her hands before glancing over at her boyfriend. He was dressed in jeans and a dark blue button down shirt, but his hazel eyes were fixed on her with concern. "It's been awful. Do we have to go back?"

James just sat down next to her and opened his arms, which Lily had no problem entering. His hands rubbed down her back as he hugged her to him. Lily just breathed in his scent as her forehead rested comfortably on his shoulder. He sighed before saying painfully, "Unfortunately, we do. I'm sure that if you're this upset, you must've left quite suddenly and you not returning would cause more problems than if we went back. At least this time you won't be alone. I'm sorry you had a horrible time. I thought you had said Petunia might not even be there the first night? I take it you were wrong?"

Lily nodded. "She was there from the moment I got there. I thought things would be ok, but we ended up in a fight last night and it continued pretty much all day today. I broke my favorite picture frames, my mirror, and some figurines last night accidentally."

James grimaced at the thought of causing Lily to be so angry that she would have uncontrolled magic. At least every time he had made her mad, she had not lost control. "At least you can use Reparo."

Lily sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. How was your evening?"

James sighed and made a face of his own. He wasn't sure how to explain the things that had happened in the last 24 hours. "The short version? I've had to deal with my parents, Sirius leaving practical jokes for Moody, Lauren's sudden yet predictable aloofness at being home for the first time since well…, and my Dad's study. At least the food's been good. Reeny and Penny are excellent cooks."

Lily looked up at him smiling softly and one of her hands grazed his cheek. "You know, Sirius is probably just trying to make you and Lauren smile. I reckon it's gotta be weird being here after everything that's happened…for all of you."

James found himself looking into her beautiful green eyes that were practically jumping out at him because of her green dress. He considered her words though. "You're probably right."

James leaned back into the couch, pulling Lily with him. Her arms were wrapped around his midsection with her head lying on his shoulder as he continued to have his arms around her. "Have I mentioned how pretty you look all dressed up?"

Lily chuckled into his chest. "Yes, but I had to take all of my make-up off because I was crying, my hair's all messed up now, and I'm sure I need to use a proper cleaning spell to get rid of the tear stains on the front of my dress."

James just squeezed her tighter, snickering quietly. "I don't care about that. You still look beautiful to me. I have to go change and stuff anyway if you feel you need to primp yourself though. Lauren can probably help you there."

She nodded, as she began to let go of him finally. "Ok."

He helped her stand up, took her hand, and pulled her gently towards the stairwell. "Well, one thing first."

Lily looked at him quizzically. "What's that?"

James just smiled before leaning in to kiss her for a few seconds. "Just that."

Lily's eyes sparkled up at him. She had no idea how he could make her feel like the last 24 hours weren't important, but she liked it. "Thanks for making me feel better."

James just shrugged as he led her up the right set of stairs leading to the West Wing. "My pleasure."

As they walked up the stairs, he noticed Lily looking around at everything curiously so he continued, "I'm gonna take you up to the West Wing; that's where all of the bedrooms are. Sirius and I were in his room when we heard the crack downstairs. He's probably sleeping now, considering that's all he likes to do when he's here. His room is the first door on the left because he wanted to be as far away from my parents as possible and they wouldn't let him stay in the East Wing all alone. Mine is the second on the right and Lauren's is the third on the left. She's been in there all day doing whatever girls do in their rooms. Each wing on the second floor has seven bedrooms— one master bedroom at the end of the hall, then three bedrooms on each side of the hall, each with their own bath."

Lily just nodded, thinking quietly to herself that she had never seen a house that big in her life, let alone been _in_ one. "What about all of the decorations and pictures on the walls?"

James glanced around. "Well, the decorations are a lot like the stuff downstairs, stuff that's been around for generations. A lot of the pictures are old as well. There's a bunch of pictures on the wall closer to the master suite of all of us growing up. My Mum used to like seeing them as she made her way downstairs."

Lily noticed he didn't talk about the sleeping portraits they'd passed at the top of the stairs, but thought they might be some of his family members and didn't want to bring it up. As they came up to Lauren's door, she noticed a picture hanging near it that just had to be James and Lauren when they were younger. Lauren was laughing hysterically as James had to have tackled her in a sandbox and was tickling her mercilessly. "Awwww, weren't you both adorable…"

James just smiled fondly. "Lauren likes that one too." He then knocked gently on Lauren's door, "Lauren? Can I come in?"

There was no answer, but then the door opened to reveal a disgruntled Lauren in jeans and a t-shirt with a cassette player and a headset in her hands. "What is it _now_, Jimmy?" However, her demeanor changed completely when she noticed Lily. "Hey! What are you doing here so early? James told me you wouldn't be here for at least another half hour or so."

Lily just sighed. "Family feud. I was wondering if you would allow me to monopolize your mirror to finish primping myself?"

She opened her door wider, gesturing for her to come on in. "By all means. I have some green eye shadow that would look gorgeous with that."

James just shook his head. "I'm constantly amazed with girls. That's all I have to say. Thanks, Lauren. I'm going to get ready now, but considering I'm a guy and it won't take me that long, just knock on Sirius' door whenever you're done, Lily."

Lily smiled at him while Lauren just shooed him away. "Leave her to me, Jimmy! Go!"

When Lauren closed the door and he heard girlish giggling behind it, James couldn't resist grinning a bit to himself Girls were weird, but if Lauren could make Lily smile and show her what it was like to have a sister who cared, then he was all for it. He made his way to his room to change. Hopefully, Lily would have a much better evening that night.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – The Evans Family

Lily took a good look at her reflection in the mirror before turning back around to face Lauren. "So? Final thoughts?"

Lauren smiled at Lily. It was so cute to see her so worried about her appearance. "You know James would call you beautiful if you were wearing sweatpants to this dinner, right? And you look gorgeous, not that I should even need to say it. That dress is amazing on you."

Lily smiled a little, although she still felt slightly inadequate. "He would, wouldn't he? I just want to look really nice. He's never seen me dressed up really, and my sister… Well, I just want to look nice."

Lauren understood what Lily was trying to say even though she hadn't exactly said it— she wanted to look just as good, if not better than her sister. Lily had briefly told her about the last 24 hours with the girl, and it sounded like both she and James were going to be going in to meet the death squad when they went to this dinner. However, Lauren was positive all of her sister's angst was because she was merely jealous of Lily. Lauren could easily see why; Lily was beautiful, smart, a witch, etc. Lily bringing her new boyfriend to this family dinner was just another Lily moment that incensed the girl. However, none of that excused the way her sister was treating her. Lauren knew from experience at school that Lily was extremely kind-hearted and never treated anyone with hostility or superiority (with the exception of James over the years) so she was positive that this was how Lily treated her sister. That meant her sister's jealous little tirade was completely uncalled for, especially seeing how much it affected Lily. She hoped that Lily had a much better evening; not that she wouldn't have a good time because James would make it his mission to see her smile. "You do. No contest. James will be picking up his tongue off the floor. Hell, maybe Sirius too."

Lily giggled at the visual. "Thanks, Lauren."

Lauren shrugged. "Anytime. If your sister gives you trouble, just stare at James. I find that staring at the boy I like makes problems easier to deal with because I don't remember them, although how you can find Jimmy's ugly mug cute is beyond me."

Lily laughed. "I'll try to remember that."

Lauren shooed her out the door. "Now, go! Have fun and ignore the hag!"

Lily giggled at Lauren's words as she made her way down the hall toward Sirius' door. She had taken her time getting ready with Lauren so she was sure James would be in there waiting for her. Lily had felt a slight pang in her chest as she had gotten ready with Lauren. It was supposed to be her and Petunia getting ready for their dates together, laughing and giggling as they did each other's hair and make-up. Lily supposed that she must've been given the short stick when it came to having a good sisterly relationship. At least she had found another friend in Lauren.

Not surprised to hear a slight explosion and male laughter behind the door, Lily reached out her hand and knocked lightly. "James? Sirius?"

The door opened and James, looking rather handsome in a black suit with a white shirt and black tie, was in front of her. His mouth dropped open a bit and his hazel eyes widened as he looked at her. "Wow, Lily. You look incredible."

Lily couldn't help blushing slightly at his words. "Thanks. You ready to go?"

James nodded, but turned back to look back at Sirius slightly smirking, "See you later, Padfoot. Keep your fingers crossed that Lily doesn't have accidental magic in the restaurant."

Lily laughed and pushed him gently. "Hey!"

James just gave her a smile and a wink. "It's true."

Sirius had made his way over to the door and when he saw Lily fully, he stopped with his eyes wide and he whistled. "Prongs, you're a lucky man."

Lily blushed deeply at his words while James just smacked him. "Hey! That's my girl you're oogling. You can see _Debbie_ when we're back at school."

Sirius just gave him a glare. "I'm not going to see _Debbie_, thank you very much. She gave me this horrid necklace and sends me these sickening love notes all the time. Can you say stalker much?"

James chuckled while Lily said, "Awww…Black has a girlfriend!"

Sirius glared at her. "Watch it, Red."

James was still chuckling but reached for Lily's hand, pulling her out the door. "Behave while I'm gone Sirius. Lauren's in charge, and her wrath is far worse than mine."

Sirius just gave them a mischievous smile. "I can handle the big, bad Lauren. Have fun, lovebirds."

James led Lily to the stairwell, and the two of them made their way downstairs. "So I take it we aren't apparating to your house, seeing as we're not supposed to do magic, right?"

Lily nodded, extremely glad that he was perceptive in knowing that any magic use would be minimal. "We're going to apparate back to where I left my Mum's car. I'll drive us back to my house."

James gave her a nod, but frowned as he looked around the living room. "Hey, where'd your coat go?"

Lily giggled. "It was conjured. It probably disappeared when I no longer thought about it. I left in a bit of a rush."

James just sighed before conjuring her a new coat and summoning his. Lily took his hand and apparated the two of them to her mother's car. James smiled when he saw the car, although it wasn't his usual happy smile. "I've never been in a muggle car before. I wish I learned how to drive already. My parents were going to have me go through the muggle class after Hogwarts. They said it was useful knowledge for being an Auror, seeing as they get all sorts of assignments that may relate to interacting with muggles."

Lily tried to ignore the sad look in James' eyes as he talked about his parents. "Well, I could teach you. I learned and past the test last summer. It's not all that difficult really."

James shrugged as he got in the passenger side, and Lily started the car. "Sure."

Lily sighed. "Before we leave, I have to prep you a bit."

James looked over at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

Lily met his curious eyes and looked at him sheepishly. "Well, you do realize I'm a muggleborn and that no one outside of my immediate family knows I'm a witch? That means I have a back-story that I use when I'm in the company of people other than my Mum, Dad, or Petunia. We need to discuss my back-story so that you know it and determine what yours is going to be. We also have to be completely comfortable with the details because I have a feeling Petunia is going to try and trip you up."

James nodded and took her hand, playing with it in his hands, although his eyes never left hers. "Ok, so what's your story?"

Lily focused on anything but James touching her hand. It was rather distracting. "Umm, well, I supposedly attend a boarding school up in Scotland called St. Anne's Academy, which is an actual muggle school that is co-ed. After I graduate this year, I will be attending Cambridge University to study English. I don't really give out many more details about classes and such, but I do have to fake things every once in a while. I have read a ton of muggle books, seeing as my Dad is an English professor."

James nodded thoughtfully. "Well, to keep things simple, I should also be going to St. Anne's, and we could've met in your latest literature class or something. What do most muggle guys go to a university for?"

Lily frowned. "Medicine? Law? You could do English too so I could cover some of the questions directed to you."

James frowned and shook his head. "No, they'll expect me to answer my questions. I could do medicine. My parents taught me a few things about muggle medicine and science. I could answer questions about that. Does Cambridge University have a medicine program? I could just be going there too."

Lily nodded. "It does."

James sighed and leaned back in his seat, continuing to hold her hand. He caressed the back of it with his thumb. "Well, that's that. Is there anything I should know about St. Anne's?"

Lily looked up at the car ceiling, searching her mind to remember anything vital. "Not really. The set-up is similar to that of Hogwarts, no Houses though. I can say you might be asked whether you play a muggle sport, seeing as you are a guy."

James laughed. "I know a bit about football I guess, but I don't know enough to pretend that I play the game. Sirius and I used to try it, but we got bored and played quidditch instead."

Lily smiled at him. "If you're asked, just say you have played football before, but decided not to at St. Anne's because you were more dedicated to your studies or something."

James nodded. "Ok. This shouldn't be too bad."

Lily sighed. "Don't say that. It hasn't even started yet."

James kissed the back of her hand that he was holding and gave her one of his big smiles. "It will be _fine_, Lily…even if I have to silently obliviate a whole lot of people after you explode and cause bad things to happen."

Lily laughed, her eyes twinkling amusedly at him. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

And with that, Lily started to drive them to her house, answering James' questions about driving as they went along. When they finally pulled up to the house, Lily was surprised to see just her Dad's car there. "That's odd. Everyone was supposed to be here about now. I guess my aunt and uncle are running a bit late or maybe we're meeting them at the restaurant instead."

James just shrugged as he got out of the vehicle after Lily. He had just made it around to her when she suddenly stood in front of him with her hand out. That's when he heard a growl to his left. When he looked over, it was clear that this must be the German Shepherd Lily had mentioned to him, and it was definitely looking at him like he was his next meal. It was bigger than he had thought it would be; if the dog were to stand on his hind legs, it probably would be just as tall as him. Lily had told it to stay and sit in a firm voice before leading James closer to the angry beast. James was worried the dog would just pounce on him and kill him anyway, but after the dog sniffed his hand at Lily's behest, he seemed to back off. Lily gave the dog a couple of pats before turning her attention back to James with mischievous eyes. "Ok. It looks like he won't kill you yet…"

James rolled his eyes playfully and leaned down to give her a quick kiss before they went inside. "That's reassuring, Lils."

James was amused that the dog followed Lily as she walked with him to the house. It was clear that the dog adored Lily, which he himself knew firsthand was very easy to do. They both walked inside and James helped Lily with her coat. Lily showed him where to hang the coats and then pulled him towards the kitchen where there were some voices. Lily knocked on the kitchen door as she pushed it open. "Mum? Dad? I'm back."

She had pulled James in behind her so he finally got his first look at Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Mr. Evans was a tall, lanky man with sandy hair that was slowly graying and he had Lily's bright green eyes. Mrs. Evans was a pretty woman with red hair that hung near her shoulders (which was shorter than Lily's) and she had pale brown eyes. Mrs. Evans had leapt out of her seat and gave her daughter a hug. "Lily! You're back! I was so worried when you ran off like that. Promise me you won't do something like that again, young lady."

James smiled when he noticed the guilty look on Lily's face. He had never seen her look that way before. He supposed mothers just had a way to make you feel guilty. "Mum, I came back. I told you I would."

Mrs. Evans was still not appeased with her daughter. She was looking her over rather sternly still. "Well, if there _is_ a next time, it better be under less stressful circumstances."

Mr. Evans had stood up and put his hands on Mrs. Evans' shoulders. "Leave her alone, sweetheart." He turned his attention to James. "Now, you must be the James Potter we have heard about."

James just nodded, grasping the hand that had been extended towards him. "Yes, Sir."

He nodded back at him. "Well, it's nice to finally put a face to the name. Lily's told us all about you, of course."

Mrs. Evans merely put her hands together in delight before gesturing to the kitchen table her and her husband had been sitting at previously. "Oh, it's wonderful to meet you, dear! You must come in and sit with us before everyone comes."

Soon, Lily and James were sitting down with her parents, answering a bunch of questions. James actually thought it was going pretty well. Mr. Evans had asked him all sorts of questions about quidditch, since Lily had only been able to explain the basics, and Mrs. Evans wanted to know all about the two of them at Hogwarts. However, conversation halted when there was a loud throat clearing behind them. James turned to see a rather sour-looking blonde young woman with light brown eyes standing in the kitchen entryway with her hand on her hip. She was wearing a pale blue dress that fit her ok, but James supposed he was partial to Lily. The woman nodded to Lily disdainfully before pursing her lips and stating snootily, "Vernon is in the hallway. I told him I should come in first, which was obviously a good thing since you were talking so cavalierly about…_magic_."

Lily frowned at her sister's words, as they had been laced with venom. Petunia had practically spat out the word 'magic.' It was obvious the earlier fight was still weighing heavily on her sister's mind. She answered her as politely as possible, "I'm sorry, Petunia. I didn't realize… James, this is Petunia. Petunia, this is James."

James nodded to Petunia, as he watched her appraise him with her eyes, almost like he was some specimen that needed to be kept far, far away. He tried to be nice and replied effortlessly, "Nice to meet you. Congratulations on your engagement."

Petunia gave him an odd look, and when she spoke, it looked forced, "The same, and thank you."

Mrs. Evans had gotten up quickly out of her seat to break the tension in the room. "Well! If Vernon is here, then we can head to the restaurant to meet Uncle Rob, Aunt Gill, and the girls."

Everyone soon made their way outside awkwardly. James looked over at Lily questioningly when he got his first look at Vernon and Petunia together. Vernon was a rather heavyset man with a controlling sort of voice. He seemed to be trying way too hard and came off as more than a bit rude and condescending. Seeing him with Petunia, who was just as petite as Lily, although not nearly as pretty in his opinion, was rather alarming. They just didn't…fit. Vernon didn't even hold her hand nor do anything remotely affectionate. Lily had just given him a look that said 'I know, but we have to play nice.' This disappointed James, but he could handle it for an evening.

Vernon advertised very loudly that as he had the largest vehicle, he should take them all to the restaurant and insisted on driving because he believed rather pompously that Mr. and Mrs. Evans shouldn't have to drive. Petunia made sure to point out that James did not have a car, but James had taken the bait and used it to his advantage, merely stating that cars were impractical when one was a student and he was glad that he didn't have one. He noticed Lily glance over at him with amusement as he rose to the occasion. James was sure that night was going to be full of one-liners. Maybe he would get to have a little fun, even if it wasn't with magic.

They finally made it to the restaurant and introductions were thrown around. Lily had introduced him to her aunt and uncle; her cousins, Heather, Sarah, and Bethany; and their dates Mark, Eric, and Josh respectively. James never let go of Lily's hand throughout everything, which he seemed to sense that she appreciated because it looked like she was feeling very strained and uncomfortable. James was sure it was because of the daggers being shot at Lily from Petunia. The girl just wouldn't let up. James had tried to comfort Lily silently the only way he could— by keeping her in physical contact.

Lily sighed to herself as everyone began sitting down. Her luck did not seem to be changing. Petunia and Vernon had ended up sitting across from her and James. Lily had soon realized why Petunia wouldn't stop glaring at her. It was because Heather, Sarah, and Bethany had all shot James looks of interest, especially because he and Lily appeared to be rather close for such a new couple, and no one really was paying attention to her and Vernon. She had no idea why Petunia was with Vernon to begin with, but she knew that if Petunia had kept looking for a better guy, she could have found a connection with someone like she had found with James.

The group all ordered red wine to drink at the behest of Petunia and Vernon. When the glasses were poured, toasts were given to the new bride and groom. James fought not to wince at the taste; he had thought it would taste like Oak Meade and was sadly mistaken. He leaned over to Lily, who also didn't look to like the wine, and whispered in her ear, "Would you be opposed to a little silent transfiguration with our drinks?"

Lily's eyes lit up mischievously before she whispered back, "Only if you're careful."

He nodded and noticed Petunia was watching him carefully. He stared her down until she looked away. Then, he slid his wand out from his sleeve, making sure everything was covered by the table cloth in front of his lap. He silently transfigured their glasses of wine into Oak Meade. It was nice that the color was pretty much the same so he hadn't needed to worry about making sure the color was correct. He slid his wand carefully back up his sleeve before reaching to sip his new drink. He smiled when he realized he had done it correctly. When Lily had seen him smile, she had reached for her drink as well, giving him a cheeky grin when she set it back down. Petunia had watched Lily take her sip suspiciously. "Lily, I thought you never cared much for red wine."

Lily just shrugged and smiled back at her innocently. "Well, this is pinot noir. It's a sweeter red wine. It's not so bad."

James forced himself not to laugh at Lily's words. She was so adorable when she was being devious. Upon seeing James cough into his hand, Petunia turned her glare to him before asking him a question loud enough for the whole table to be included in their conversation. Her voice oozed with false pretenses as she spoke sweetly, "So James, tell us about what _you_ do. I'm afraid we all know _so_ little about you."

Lily's expression had soured a bit at Petunia's obvious action to single out James, but he just squeezed her hand reassuringly as he held it in his lap while. He was completely at ease. This was going to be a piece of cake. "Oh, well, I go to St. Anne's with Lily. The two of us met in our class on American Literature."

Petunia just smiled snottily at him. "Oh? What has been your favorite story so far?"

James just laughed lightly, having fun playing her game. "What _isn't_ a favorite? I love to read. We started with Moby Dick, which was fascinating, but I really like Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck. He just has a _way_ with words, you know?"

Petunia looked incredibly frustrated that he had known something about American Literature. If she had known anything about him, she would know that he would never bring up anything he didn't know something about; not to mention she was dealing with a pro who could emulate innocence without really trying, which was something that was necessary when you were a well-known prankster. She continued with feigned disinterest, as if she had bored her with his answer, "What about _after_ school? I imagine you will be attending Cambridge with our Lily here?"

Petunia was obviously aware that the story they were using had been concocted together so it was likely to be similar. James just shrugged, dragging things out a bit longer for shock value. "Probably, although I'm keeping my options open. I'm looking to go into medicine."

Petunia's eyes seemed to gleam like she had caught him. James knew what she was thinking— surely, a wizard knew nothing about muggle science; boy, was she in for a surprise! He had never been more thankful that his parents insisted he learn as much as possible about both worlds when he and Lauren were growing up. She smiled cruelly at him. "Medicine is completely _different_ from literature… What keeps your interest in that direction?"

James sighed, pretending to be unsure about the draw. "Well, I _do_ love to read and write, but there is just _something_ that pulls at me with science. It's always…changing."

Petunia just smirked. "Like what _specifically_ though?"

James could feel Lily tense up, but he kept his eyes on Petunia. He couldn't wait to finish this little display. He was sure she was about to be surprised, and it made him feel quite happy to put her in her place after seeing Lily in tears earlier. "Well, I'm fascinated with biochemistry. It's completely amazing that all life is made up of nothing but cells that do nothing but countless chemical reactions. I suppose I'm most interested in research that centers around enzymes, which are proteins that help the cells carry out functions. I've read a lot of research about enzymes that has led to helping fight disease or how the lack of an enzyme could be the cause a disease. I'd probably focus on that…"

Petunia looked incensed that being a wizard he had known about all that, but she finally seemed to back down, knowing that she had been bested. Her face clearly showed that she wasn't happy about it though. Vernon, however, had not understood anything that James had even said so he tried to compete instead, turning the focus back onto himself. "Well, _I've_ been in the drilling business forever, just like my father. It's amazing how much _I_ could tell you about drills. It's definitely a _man's_ business."

James forced himself to look interested, although he could think of nothing more boring. "Yes, that _does_ sound interesting."

Lily squeezed his hand just then so James finally glanced back over at her. He was surprised, but not disappointed, to see her smiling up at him, thoroughly happy in that moment. No one was talking to him specifically anymore so he lifted up her hand and kissed the back of it. She had all of his attention now. "So Lily, what have you decided to have for dinner?"

The two of them chatted quietly with one another as the conversations continued after the food had been ordered. James was happy that Lily was actually laughing and smiling with him, which meant he was succeeding in making her think of something other than her sister. When Lily had been talking with Sarah briefly, Mrs. Evans, who was seated next to him, had patted his free hand in a grateful manner. James was sure she was happy to see her daughter so happy, especially when Petunia did not appear to be relenting in her anger toward Lily. She had continued to look rather stony as she sat next to Vernon, who was talking rather loudly about drilling, his networking skills, important people that he knew, etc. Needless to say, he never focused on Petunia.

Lily couldn't believe she was actually enjoying herself. That could only be attributed to James, who never ceased to keep a smile on her face. She had talked with Sarah, who was seated next to her, and she was surprised to notice jealous looks coming from her. She knew that James was very handsome, but her cousins' dates were not that bad looking. However, Lily soon realized that it wasn't necessarily James' good looks that were causing the jealousy, it was the way he looked at her. Lily supposed she must've taken it for granted, but it was becoming quite clear that she had something special with James that none of her cousins had; not to mention that Petunia didn't have it either with Vernon. James had done every gentlemanly thing thus far on the date— pulling out her chair, changing her drink when she didn't like it, winning after going head to head with Petunia, and made it very clear that his concern was for her to have a good time. He also provided a sense of quiet comfort to her by having her in physical contact, like holding her hand or having his arm around her chair. Looking back over the last two months with him, she realized that the only thing that had ever calmed her down had been some sort of physical contact with James. Lily sighed as she looked back over at her boyfriend. He really was special, and he, for some odd reason, liked her. She had never felt so lucky before, and it made her like him all the more. He just gave her a silly smile when he noticed her looking at him. "What?"

She shook her head at his question and continued to smile at him. "Nothing. You're amazing."

James blushed slightly at her sudden compliment and waved it off. "Nah. I'm just with you."

Lily guffawed and nudged him. "I can still think you're great, Mr. Potter."

James chuckled and ran his fingers over her palm of the hand he was still holding. "Well, not as wonderful as you."

Dinner soon came after that. Most of the dinner conversation was about the upcoming wedding. James and Lily stayed pretty quiet, nodding at the appropriate times. Lily only had to speak up when it was mentioned that she was a bridesmaid, but other than that, the two of them were safe from further scrutiny. When most people had finished and the plates were cleared, some after dinner drinks and desserts were ordered to be shared amongst everyone. However, James caught Lily looking over at some of the dancing couples. James had heard the piano playing softly all night, but hadn't realized people actually danced at muggle restaurants. He hated dancing personally, but he had learned from his mother that women loved to dance. His mother had forced him to dance with her when he was younger so he knew how to, much to his own dismay. Upon glancing around the table, it was clear that Lily wasn't the only one looking out at the dance floor. Both Sarah and Bethany were watching longingly as well. James sighed. He glanced back over at Lily, somewhat reluctantly, before asking, "Want to start a trend?"

Lily gazed back at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

James nodded to the dance floor with another sigh. "Would you care to dance?"

Lily giggled at his expression. It was clear that James had no real desire to dance, but just knew that she wanted to. "Only if you don't mind..."

James smiled at her and held out his hand. "Now, why in the world would I mind dancing with a beautiful girl? Let's go, and you just watch how many people follow from the table."

Lily and James excused themselves and made their way out to the dance floor. It was just slow dancing, but Lily was surprised when James seemed to know exactly how to dance even though he seemed not to like it. He kept holding her hand while his other made his way around her lower back to hold her close to him. She was impressed. "And just where did you learn to dance?"

James guffawed and looked pained. "It was _awful_. My Mum used to make me dance with her everywhere. I was never more embarrassed in my life."

Lily giggled at him. "I can see that now… A 10 year old boy with messy, dark hair, forced to wear a suit and tie, being dragged by his mother onto the dance floor as everyone stared."

James rolled his eyes, but he smiled down at her. "That's not far from the truth, you know."

Lily nodded at his words, but then she gestured to the table. "You were right."

When James glanced over, he saw that all three of her cousins were leaving the table with their dates to come and join them. "Well, I suppose your parents, aunt, and uncle are merely staying at the table to keep your pleasant sister and her absolutely charming fiancée company. Why doesn't he ask her to dance? Hold her hand? Anything?"

Lily sighed, wondering the same thing herself. "I have no idea why they're even together. They don't even remind me of a couple."

James nodded. "Yeah, I was wondering about that. On a side note, why have your cousins been staring at me?"

Lily gave him a look, wondering if he was actually serious. "You're handsome, you git."

James shook his head, although he was amused by her words. "No, I don't think that's it."

Lily sighed. "Jealousy maybe?"

James chuckled at that. "Well, that's petty." Then, he spun her around and dipped her a bit, making her laugh. "Let them be jealous then."

Lily's eyes sparkled back up at him. "You're crazy."

James nodded at her with a wink, as he righted the two of them. He kissed her softly before saying with fake excitement, "Yes! I'm glad you know that already. It would be bad if you discovered it later and started not to like me because of it."

Lily giggled at his words, and then she and James continued dancing for a bit until they saw the desserts arrive from the kitchen. They made their way back to their seats with her cousins and their dates. The conversation that must've been going on at the table looked positively uncomfortable and stilted. Mr. and Mrs. Evans both smiled warmly at James and Lily as they sat down. However, if Petunia had been a basilisk, both James and Lily would have been dead on the spot.

Dessert finished up quickly. It seemed that the tension at the table had increased so much so that once things were finished up, it was clear it was time to go. James tried to keep Lily's attention on him so she wouldn't fret over Petunia's glares of death. He helped her with her coat, and then they made their way outside with everyone else. Goodbyes were said, and then they were left with the ride home in Vernon's car. It was too bad that he couldn't just take Lily away from the situation altogether and apparate back; that just wasn't something that was possible when you were pretending to be muggles.

The ride home was extremely long and uncomfortable. Vernon continued to talk and boast obnoxiously about drilling while Petunia praised him. Mr. and Mrs. Evans tried to enter into the conversation a few times, but ultimately were not able to sway the topics discussed. James remained silent with Lily. Lily kept glancing warily at her sister. James wasn't sure why until he had seen Petunia glare over at Lily in a way that clearly screamed 'Just wait.'

Once home, Vernon and Petunia headed into the living room while everyone else made their way to the kitchen. Lily turned to James, giving him a smile. "I just have to run upstairs for a minute. I'll be right back, ok?"

James nodded to her and watched her head upstairs before turning his attention to Mr. and Mrs. Evans, who were both watching him although it wasn't uncomfortable. "Thank you for letting me come to the dinner. It was really nice of you both."

Mrs. Evans smiled at him. "Of course, dear! You're just as wonderful as she has said! It was a pleasure finally meeting you."

Mr. Evans nodded. "I haven't seen Lily smile so much in a long time. You're definitely good for her."

James fought not to blush at their compliments. It was really nice having their approval. It was also a huge relief and his crappy Divination mid-term no longer weighed on his mind. "Thank you, but Lily is the wonderful one. She's exceptionally bright, very talented, and—"

He immediately stopped when he heard Lily and Petunia shouting upstairs, although it was somehow cut off before anything concrete was made out. James grimaced. This was exactly what he had been afraid of. When had Petunia made her way upstairs? He should have been watching. He continued with a sigh, "…and has quite the temper. That was definitely a silencing charm."

Mrs. Evans immediately started moving toward the stairs, but Mr. Evans grabbed her arm gently. "No dear, you interrupted them earlier. They need to let it out, or it will continue to cause problems. Lily has never harmed Petunia. I think the only thing I have ever seen happen was a lot of things blowing up around them."

James was about to reply with some sort of reassurance that things would be ok, but stopped when a teary-eyed Lily burst into the kitchen with her satchel and both of their coats. "James, is it alright if I stay at your house tonight?"

James looked over at her incredibly concerned and stole a questioning glance to her parents before replying, "You're always welcome, Lily. I could have a guestroom made up, if you would like."

Lily nodded, but was looking at her feet and sniffling. "Please?"

James nodded, before turning back to her parents. He knew he should leave her alone to say goodbye. "Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans— thanks again."

They both nodded to him with a sad smile. James ran his hand over Lily's back gently before pulling away and disappearing silently with his coat and her things. Lily glanced up at her parents tiredly. "I'm sorry. I just can't be here right now. Petunia and I… I just need to wait for her to calm down. Me too, I guess. And well, I was going to go over to James' house tomorrow anyway to go back to Hogwarts so…"

Mrs. Evans just hugged her daughter, essentially cutting her off. "We understand, sweetie. You go on then."

Lily looked over at her father, who nodded in agreement. Lily sighed. She had to ask, "So, what do you think of him?"

Mrs. Evans chuckled at her daughter's expression. It was somewhere between still sad and angry, yet was now also hopeful and excited at the same time. "He's lovely, dear."

Mr. Evans just sighed. "Well, if he can make you smile like you did tonight, Lilypad, then there's no way I wouldn't approve."

Mrs. Evans shook her finger at her daughter with a smile. "Now, you bring that one back for Spring Break, you hear me?"

Lily smiled at them briefly, nodding in the affirmative, and hugged them goodbye before apparating with a crack to James' house. When she opened her eyes in his living room, she saw him waiting for her on his couch. He immediately hopped up and walked in front of her when she arrived. He brushed some tears off of her face, concern radiating out of his hazel eyes. "Hey, I had Penny set up one of the bedrooms for you. Are you ok? What happened? I thought she was in the living room?"

Lily sighed and leaned her head against his chest as he stood in front of her. She felt his arms slide down her own a bit before they wrapped around her, pulling her into a hug. "She must've followed me. I was just going to go get my camera so we could take a picture all dressed up, but then she came into my room and started throwing insults and I just didn't want to deal with it anymore. I had to leave."

James nodded into her hair before kissing her forehead. "I meant what I said. You're always welcome. Come on, I'll show you where you are staying. You should just get some rest after today. It's late anyway."

Lily sniffled. "Ok."

He took her hand and led her up to the West Wing and stopped at the second door on the left. "I put you here so there's someone on either side of your room. If you need anything, let any of us know."

Lily just nodded as he led her inside the bedroom. It was very much like Lauren's, except obviously unlived in. "Thanks."

James nodded. "You're more than welcome. I'm sorry the end of the evening didn't go so well."

Lily smiled at him, and she ran her hand over the side of his face. He looked disappointed, especially considering the night had gone extremely well until the fight. "I had a wonderful time, James. Petunia doesn't matter that much. You are something else."

James gave her a small smile before kissing her gently for a few seconds. "Good. Then, my mission was successful."

Lily chuckled weakly, and her eyes were clearly amused. "Mission?"

James laughed. "Well, yeah. It has always been and will always be my mission to see you smile and be happy."

Lily wrapped her arms around his neck at his incredibly sweet words and kissed him for a bit longer, before whispering against his lips, "Thank you then."

James hugged her once more and kissed her neck before letting her go. "Night, Lily."

Lily sighed. "Night, James."

He closed the door as he left, and Lily quickly missed his comforting presence. She glanced around the room. It was clearly unused, but there was a full bed, nightstand, dresser, and a desk. The closet, which had been left open, had some stuff in it though. Upon looking inside of the top box, which had been left was open, she noticed some moving photographs. She smiled at seeing a couple of James and Lauren when they had to have been about four and five.

She sighed as she went over to lie on the bed. She wished her sister didn't hate magic so vehemently. Lily knew now that it must clearly be jealousy. However, if Petunia wanted to be a witch too, why did she treat magic so heinously? Why didn't she and Petunia have a good relationship where Lily answered Petunia's questions about magic, helped her by using magic, etc? Lily would have done anything to keep close with her. She would have bought her an owl so they could write to each other all of the time. They had been each other's best friend growing up. At the same time, if Lily would do all of these wonderful things to continue to have a good relationship with her, it made her wonder why Petunia wasn't trying just as hard to have a good relationship with her. Maybe it was more than jealousy. Maybe Petunia had now become downright resentful of her. Lily sighed. It didn't matter; she would never stop trying to be nice and include her sister regardless. She was her _sister_, after all.

Lily ultimately got up and grabbed a few things before heading into the bathroom to shower before she got some sleep. Tomorrow, she was going back to Hogwarts and would be around James and her friends. Things could finally feel normal for her again.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – The Potters

Lily had just about finished getting ready the next morning, still somewhat brooding over her sister, when she heard a faint knock on her door. This made her smile, seeing as it was likely James because she didn't think he had told anyone that she was there when they got back late last night. She made her way over, and upon opening it, was surprised to see a rather small house elf waiting in a gold dress with a scarlet apron (the opposite of Reeny's outfit) with the Potter crest easily visible in the lower right corner of her dress. "Umm, hi."

The little house elf curtsied slightly and her big dark brown eyes beamed up at her happily. "I is Penny, Miss. James requested I shows you down to the dining area since yous do not know where it is. Is Miss ready? Penny can wait."

Lily quickly looked herself over. She was in jeans and a dark purple zip up jumper, and she had already made her hair presentable. "Oh, thank you. I'm all ready, and that would be very nice of you."

Penny nodded. "It is Penny's pleasure, Miss. This way if yous please."

Lily was glancing around absently as she followed Penny to the stairs. She was just about to step onto the stairwell when she heard an unfamiliar woman's voice sound from her right, "And just who might you be, dear?"

Lily stumbled, but somehow managed to steady herself using the banister, as she was completely caught off guard by the woman's voice. However, before she even had a chance to reply, she heard a loud sigh from her left and a male voice scolded, "Now look here, Aimee, you've gone and almost caused the girl to fall down the stairs! Couldn't you have been a little less aggressive? There are far more pleasant ways to gain someone's attention."

Lily's head was glancing quickly back and forth as the two portraits that had been sleeping each time she had passed were now wide awake and talking at each other. Both of them looked to be older than Moody was, like in their early forties; the woman had rather long light brown hair and amazing blue eyes; and the man looked to be an older version of James with the distinctly messy dark hair but with dark brown eyes. The woman frowned as she glared back at the other portrait. "I'll do as I please, thank you very much!" She then resumed looking over at Lily, her hard features melting into persuasive inquisitiveness mixed with a kind smile. "Now dear, you were about to let us know all about you, weren't you?"

Lily was slightly uncomfortable at the upfrontness of the female portrait, but she was sure they were both merely James' relatives so there was no reason not to respond. "I'm Lily Evans."

The reaction on the woman's face was absolute delight, and she clapped her hands together. "_Surely_ _not_ the Lily Evans our James has been _obsessed_ with for _ages_? _Do_ tell us about yourself, dear! You are clearly here on your own accord, correct? James is rather gifted with magic…"

The man guffawed as Lily blushed horrendously. "Aimee! Can't you leave the poor girl alone? You're embarrassing her."

The woman just waved her hand at the man as she chortled quietly. "Oh hush, Harry. You don't know anything about this. Now dear, I don't mean to embarrass you. I, as well as my husband here even though he is trying to hide his interest, just find it incredibly odd that the girl our James has liked for _ages_ suddenly turns up in Potter Manor unannounced."

Lily had no idea what to say. She really wished James was here right now. The female portrait's insane and forceful curiosity was a bit uncomfortable. "Well, it was a last minute thing… I was supposed to be arriving here today anyway, to go back to Hogwarts with James, Sirius, and Lauren."

The man just sighed in exasperation, although Lily saw his eyes were glowing with amusement. "There! Are you going to give the girl some space now? It's _her_ business. James wouldn't like you meddling!"

The woman just brushed off his words, rolling her eyes playfully back at him. "How many times have I told you? I will do as I please! James knows that too."

There was a loud sigh on the stairwell, and all three turned to see James leaning forward slightly with his arms stretched out to hold both banisters. He was looking at the woman in the portrait wearily. "Gran, _please_ tell me you were not giving Lily a hard time before she's had any breakfast?"

The man laughed boisterously at James' words while the woman humphed before replying as if to scold him, "Well, when _you_ don't let any of us know what's going on, I have to find out _somehow_, don't I?"

James just shook his head before gesturing between everyone. "This is Lily Evans, my girlfriend. Lily, this is my grandmother, Aimee, and my grandfather, Harry. Is that better, Gran?"

Lily hid her smile as the woman glared at James, looking altogether put off. "I suppose your parents know nothing of this either?"

Lily's eyes shot over to James. He was looking at the ceiling, waving a hand through his messy hair; this was an action that used to annoy her, but she now realized he only did it when he was nervous or uncomfortable. That's when Lily realized his parents must have portraits too. No wonder he had looked so sad when he had mentioned them yesterday. James just sighed again. "I was going to introduce her when she made it to the dining room until you decided to stop her."

His grandmother just humphed, muttering something like 'I thought so' before disappearing. His grandfather sighed heavily. "Leave your grandmother to me, James, although your parents will know everything before I pull her away, if you haven't told them already. Best hurry downstairs."

James chuckled at the portrait. "Thanks, Grandpa."

Lily watched as he disappeared from his portrait too before turning toward James with what was sure to be an odd expression on her face. "Well, _that_ was interesting."

James glanced over at her with laughter in his eyes as he smiled sheepishly. "SO SORRY about that. I should have warned you. Penny came down to me immediately when you were stopped by them. Come on, I'll take you downstairs. I regret to inform you that my parents do have portraits in the dining room, but as for questions, you should be safe even with my Gran being the way she is. I already told them about you when we got here for the weekend."

Lily giggled at him and took his offered hand. "That's ok. How do you get used to having your family that way?"

He shrugged as he led her downstairs. "It's weird, I guess. My great-grandparents on my Dad's side also have portraits in the library, but they were the first ones in my family to do so. My grandparents have been nothing more than portraits my whole life, but my parents…" He frowned. "Well, it's weird. I'm still not quite used to them being that way."

Lily nodded, understanding his somewhat reluctance to talk about it, and followed as he led her through a hallway and into the dining room. The room was incredibly large, with windows spanning the entire wall across from the doorway. The table ran parallel to the windows and could easily fit about thirty people comfortably. Sirius was already sitting down eating eggs and bacon snickering to himself, or so she thought. James just gave Sirius a look before sighing wearily and pulling out a seat across from Sirius, gesturing for her to sit down. He then turned his attention down towards the head of the table to the wall. "Mum, Dad, this is Lily. Lily, this is my Mum and Dad."

Lily turned her gaze to where James was indicating, and she got her first glimpse at James' parents. They too appeared rather young, but again older than Moody, like in their early forties like his grandparents had been. James' Dad looked just like his father and James, with what must be the Potter messy, dark hair but instead with his mother's crystal blue eyes. James' Mum had beautiful strawberry blonde hair that fell past her shoulders with James' hazel eyes. His mother was beaming at her. "Why hello, dear. It's wonderful to finally meet you. James and Sirius have probably told us tons of things about you over the last few years. My mother-in-law didn't scare you too much, did she? She's actually very sweet. A bit nosy, yes, but sweet."

James' father was nodding at his wife's words. "Always ask my Dad for help. He's the only one who has some semblance of control of her."

Lily glanced back at both boys; Sirius was still eating quietly although he looked amused at the situation while James sat beside her pulling some food onto a plate for her and himself. She glanced back at the portraits. "It's lovely to meet you both as well."

His mother sighed at her hesitant expression. "Don't worry. We don't plan on giving you the third degree. James actually told us about the two of you when we spoke for the first time, although he must've _forgotten_ to bring it up to his grandparents." She gave her son the equivalent of a glare, although James just smiled innocently down into his food. Her attention was diverted when Sirius made an annoying sound as he ate. The portrait frowned. "Sirius, do eat with your mouth closed please, or James will have to move us elsewhere."

James and Lily laughed at Sirius, who turned red in the face at being singled out. "Sorry, Mrs. Potter."

James' mother frowned. "It's Judy, dear. We've been over this before. Lily, you feel free to call us Judy and Andy as well."

Lily nodded, although she wasn't sure she felt comfortable doing so. A distraction was definitely welcome so Lily was grateful for Lauren's sudden appearance. She obviously must've had no qualms with walking around in her pajamas with messy hair and no make-up around the boys, not that she was unattractive in that state anyway. She was wearing pajama pants and a tight-fitting white camisole with her hair up in a messy bun. Lily was amused as she slumped into the seat across from her next to Sirius and started half-heartedly grabbing some food. Even her voice lacked any luster, "Mornin' everyone."

Mrs. Potter sighed as she surveyed her niece critically. "Lauren, I thought we taught you to be more of a lady."

James and Sirius snorted under their breaths while Lily just smiled a bit into her hand. James waved at his mother. "_Mum_, we're at home. Leave her be. You know she's not a morning person."

Sirius nodded as he grinned evilly. "Yeah, and besides, it's good blackmail material."

Lauren swiftly swatted him in the back of his head with energy no one expected her to have. "Watch it, Black, or I'll use a really uncomfortable charm at a most inconvenient time, if you know what I mean."

Sirius immediately quieted while James snickered. Lily thought she was the only one confused, but upon glancing back at James' parents' portraits, it appeared they too had no idea what Lauren was talking about. Lily was somewhat curious. "Do I even want to know?"

Lauren looked over at her mischievously. "Not really. Let's just say I have my own way of blackmailing, especially when you live with these two."

Lily laughed. "Between me and you, I think we can handle Sirius Black fairly well then."

James instantly started laughing while Sirius just blanched. James eventually nudged Lily curiously, "Are you ever going to tell us what you did to scare the pants off of Sirius that day?"

Lily just shrugged, smiling widely to herself. "Oh, a little of this and a little of that. If you say the right words, apparently Black cowers quite efficiently."

Sirius was now an interesting shade of red and grumbling into his food, something about women. As they continued breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Potter asked questions to Lily about herself and her family. James, Sirius, and Lauren would interject every once in a while answering the questions for her, telling a story or something to make the questions easier to bear. Soon, breakfast was done and Penny came in to clear everything away. The four of them made their way back out into the hallway when James turned to Lily. "Do you want me to give you a tour now?"

Lily nodded, still fascinated with the whole place. It was so different being in a magical home opposed to a muggle one. "Sure."

They left Lauren to go upstairs and change while Sirius merely shrugged, stating he was going to finish packing some stuff for Hogwarts. James took her hand and led her all the way down a long hallway, after turning away from the dining room. He nodded to the end of the hall before they reached it. "Ok, this is the West Wing hallway and at the end here is actually my Dad's study— well, technically, it's mine now, but for all purposes, it still is my Dad's yet. It's heavily guarded though. Only a male with the family name of Potter can get into it."

As they finally reached the end of the hallway, which appeared to be nothing more than a wall, she saw what he meant. As soon as James had come within five feet of the room, a door had appeared. James continued, "The door appears and everything to all Potter relations, but it can't be opened or accessed by all. It's similar to the wall for the Heads' Dorm, but instead of hitting the wall in three spots or something to walk through, only I can walk through it just because of who I am."

Lily had been listening to him carefully and turned to him curiously. "That sounds charm-like, even though it's a ward."

James nodded. "Yeah. It must be pretty old though, seeing as no one has been able to remove it. It's definitely been there since before my great grandparents. Believe me, we've tried. My great-grandfather said a Potter woman has not been in there for generations before him."

He then turned his attention back the way they came, pulling open a door on their right. "Ok, this next room is the potions drawing room, which my parents utilized a lot."

He let her glance around a bit. He knew she loved Potions. Lily was amazed. There were shelves and shelves of ingredients, including rare ingredients; a long table with about ten cauldrons; and then a cupboard with all sorts of labeled potions that had been brewed. "This is just…wow."

James smiled at her and caressed the back of her hand with his thumb. "Remember, my parents were Aurors. They actually made a lot of their own potions for their work so they've made this room to be as great as it is, and it is one of the reasons there is so much stuff here. Well, this is where medicinal potions are too, like pepperups, restoratives, dreamless sleep, etc. I suppose I will have to brew some of those now so the supply doesn't get low. My grandparents were rubbish at Potions. My great-grandparents said they weren't that great at it either."

He tightened his hold of her hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss the back of it, his eyes mischievous as he rubbed his hands over hers. "Come on. I think you'll like the library the best. It's one of my favorite places to go in the house."

Lily smiled at him. "Ok."

He pulled her down to a set of double doors on the left, and when he opened them, Lily's mouth fell. It was smaller than Hogwarts' library, but it was undeniably massive. James began explaining about the magic cataloging system while she glanced around in awe. He then led her over to some sections she might be interested in and told her to feel free to borrow anything that interested her if she wanted. They were interrupted briefly by his great-grandparents, but they didn't appear to be as nosy and let them go on their way. They spent a little bit more time there before he led her back to the hallway. "Ok, this door across the hall, next to the Potions room, is the decoy study. It doesn't contain anything of import, but my mother and father used it occasionally."

They walked a bit further down the hall, and he stopped at a blank spot on the wall. Well, she had _thought_ it was nothing more than a blank wall until James pointed to a spot on the floor that had the tiny little P symbol carved into it. He touched the wall, mumbling something, and a stairwell appeared. He didn't start walking down, but instead just remained in the hallway. "This takes you downstairs. It isn't charmed like my Dad's study, but it does have a family ward on it right now. I could take it off and take you down there, but there's really not much there, honestly. There's work-out equipment and a large space for training and dueling— my parent's used it a lot, although so did Sirius, Lauren, and I. I know there are some empty rooms, closets, and such with some stuff in it, but my parents told me that anything of value or family heirlooms was locked away in the Potter vaults."

Lily nodded, although her curiosity had been peaked. "Why do you have all these secret rooms? I don't understand."

James sighed, and Lily thought he looked pained. "It's a long story, best saved for another day. However, I can tell you that when a magical home has been breached in any way, most families tend to be a bit more careful about what is accessible if there were to ever be a repeat performance. Potter Manor has so many protections on it now that the only person that can access everything is me. Lauren and two others can access most things though. If Voldemort wasn't around, it might not be that way for some things, like getting into the house and such."

Lily felt horrible for him and his family. It was clear, although James had not exactly said what happened, that somehow someone must've broke into Potter Manor at some point in history. Now, with Voldemort after his family, it was like the Potter family could never catch a break. "I understand."

James didn't say anything more, and instead led her further down the hallway back near the dining room. As he passed the door, he continued, "So that was the dining room, which you've seen, but now we come to the kitchen."

The kitchen was huge. It had everything a normal muggle kitchen had, but it was clear that it was magical. There was a distinct magical vibe to the room; not to mention, there were little stepping stools, probably for the house elves. It was clear that the Potters decorated the kitchen themselves, considering there was a definite home-like feel to the room, especially with the drapes, figurines, and how the utensils were all placed about. Lily turned to him playfully. "How often do you actually come in here, with the house elves and all?"

James just laughed. "You'd be surprised. Just because I have house elves doesn't mean they do stuff all of the time. In fact, if I'm hungry, I'll usually make stuff myself until they catch me and stop me. Sirius and Lauren too. I suppose they almost always end up doing breakfast and dinner, but lunch and snacks we all try to do ourselves even though they don't like it. I will be the first to admit to being lazy every once in a while and calling for them to ask them for something, but that's not a regular thing."

Lily giggled. She was impressed that he didn't seem to take advantage of the house elves, which she found to be sweet. "What about cleaning?"

James smiled. "They're not allowed to clean any of our rooms without our permission, which I only give if it gets dusty. They like to clean everything else though, even if it looks fine. I've sent three of them to the other properties to give them something to do, now with my parents gone. Reeny is here, as she always tries to be, seeing as she is the head house elf. Penny is here too; she's the youngest and is not ready to be sent off on her own quite yet."

Lily nodded, and she smiled over at him, pulling on his hand. "Come on. Tell me about those tapestries in your living room. There was a bunch of interesting things out there."

James laughed. "I don't know much more than you really. I should really sit down with my great-grandparents and find out."

He led her back to the living room and looked around quickly to see if there was anything he could tell her about. He pointed at one of the tapestries with the P symbol. "Well, you know this one is the Potter crest. However, this one is a lot bigger so you can make out what it actually is. It's the P obviously, but then it's got the lion, the stag, the phoenix, and the unicorn on the four corners, with two wands crossing into an X behind the P. According to my Dad, the four animals are represented throughout our family line."

Lily looked thoughtful. "You're a stag."

James nodded. "Yep. My parents weren't animagi, but my Dad had a lion for a patronus while my Mum had a lioness. Hers changed when she married my Dad; it used to be a horse, I think. Apparently, that doesn't always happen, but it can."

Lily glanced at him curiously. "Can you do a patronus too? Isn't that beyond NEWT level Charms? I tried it once by myself, but I don't think I understood the reading properly. I only got a mist."

James sighed. "Mine is a stag. You're doing it correctly, but maybe your memory needs to be stronger. The stronger the memory, the more clear the form. However, it could take a few times before you produce the corporeal image. My parents taught us how to do it this past summer, just in case. You can use them to send messages much faster so if there was a problem at school, Lauren, Sirius, and I could send them a patronus with a message and it would reach them quicker than an owl. I realize now that they did that because they were worried about all of the threats I told you about. Sirius' is a large black dog, like his animagus form, and Lauren's is a thestral. We were all a little confused over hers for a while, but it…suits her somehow."

Lily frowned. "Can she see thestrals…because of before?"

James nodded, his brow furrowed. "It was a long time ago, but yes, she saw it happen."

Lily just nodded silently, not wishing to bring it up. James pulled her along gently. "The other tapestries and knick knacks have been in the family forever, but I never really learned much about them. I'm sure information is written down somewhere, like in my Dad's study or in the Potter vaults. If we go to the East Wing hallway, there are some more rooms I could show you."

Lily followed as he took her towards the East Wing. The first door was a rather large bathroom, which James explained was the only one that was accessible by itself in the house, seeing as everyone had their own attached to the bedrooms. Then there were a couple of now empty rooms. James had explained that these rooms used to be playrooms for Lauren and himself when they were younger. The final room at the end of the hall was locked tightly with a lion symbol covering the front door. He stopped there, but didn't attempt to open it. "This is a huge secret, even to _me_ just yet. My Dad hasn't fully explained it to me so I couldn't even open it if I wanted to. He said it would take some time to explain so I will have to postpone knowing about it for now, being in school and all."

Lily was still reeling over everything she had seen so far, and this was just the first floor. "The house is beautiful. It would have been amazing growing up in a magical household."

James smiled at her. "It was different, I guess. The underage restriction was, I think, the biggest difference I can think of. In a magical household, the ministry could never tell specifically if _I_ was doing the magic. I probably got away with more than I should have. Lauren too. Sirius was over some, but he also grew up in a magical house. I started to control my accidental magic pretty early as a result, like age seven."

Lily shook her head, grinning wickedly. "I was horrible. Accidental magic all the time... I didn't know what it was, obviously, but I recognized that if I wanted something to happen, I could make it happen, probably about age nine or so. Professor Dumbledore came to give me my Hogwarts letter personally, and told my parents, after he had explained about magic, that he had come mainly to see the girl in person who was giving the Ministry of Magic a fair bit of grief."

James laughed. "That doesn't surprise me at all. I knew you were secretly devious! Come on, there's just one other room I wanted to show you, but it's upstairs. The rooms in both wings, besides the masters' suites, you've seen already since all of the rooms are pretty similar, just with different decorations."

Lily followed him as he led her up the right set of stairs leading to the West Wing, but instead of stopping where his grandparents' portraits were, he continued up to the third floor. He gestured around down to the East Wing side, which she could walk over to on this floor, unlike on the second floor. "Any rooms up here are mainly used for storage; the rooms are all angled with the roof and there aren't any bathrooms attached. It's kind of like an attic. I'm sure the whole floor could be renovated, but since it was just the five of us and now it's just the three of us, it's not really a pressing concern. Maybe if my family was huge and we had lots of visiting relatives, but history has made the family very small."

He continued down the West Wing side, gesturing to a couple of rooms they were passing. "Sirius and I used to camp out up here when we were kids. Where I want to take you, however, is to this place."

He stopped in front of the last door, which when he opened, Lily noticed there was yet another stairwell. As soon as Lily reached the top of the stairs, her mouth dropped. They were in a circular room with nothing but bay windows all of the way around. She could see for miles as she gazed out; not to mention the grounds that the house was on. She had never been outside here. James sat down on the window ledge and pulled her onto his lap. "This is where I always came to be alone, read, or whatever. It's amazing, isn't it?"

Lily was still looking around, completely in love with the view. "This is incredible."

He pulled her back against his chest, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Now, the house is under an Unplottable charm that was recast after my parents' funeral, seeing as the whereabouts of the house needed to be obliterated from the other pure-blood families' memories. There are muggle-repelling charms on the place as well; they all see nothing but ruins, and the muggles who get too close trying to investigate suddenly remember needing to be elsewhere. Since I shouldn't take you outside because it's safer inside, all the way in the distance is the Potter crypt; there is a reasonably sized quidditch pitch over there to the left; and if you look back towards the front of the house, there is a large stone fountain in the middle of the yard. The gates are probably about a hundred feet or so in front of the fountain. There are flowers upon flowers planted all over the grounds. My Mum loved gardening and helped the house elves to make the place look just as she wanted it. Now that it's winter, you can't really tell, but it's really colorful in the spring time. You'll have to see it from this room during that time to really know what I mean."

Lily turned on his lap so she could look into his eyes. He looked completely comfortable and happy with everything just then. "I really like it up here."

James grinned at her while he toyed with a few strands of her hair. "I'm glad."

Lily leaned over and kissed him, lingering slightly. One of his hands slid into her hair, essentially pulling her closer, while the other rested on her hip fingering the material of her shirt. Lily's hands ran across his chest softly. She had no idea how long they kissed like that. It wasn't a crazy passionate kiss, but it was incredibly romantic. He teased her with his tongue and kept the kiss tantalizingly slow and deliberate. After what seemed like years, he pulled back a bit, whispering against her lips, "We should get back. We're supposed to be going back to Hogwarts anytime now."

Lily nodded and kissed him on his cheek before wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm glad I shrunk all of my Christmas presents and put them in my satchel right away in the afternoon otherwise I would have to go back home to get them before we left."

James tightened his arms around her and lifted them both up so they were standing. He nuzzled her neck with a sigh. "That would have been interesting."

They made their way downstairs and to the bedrooms. Lily grabbed her things and waited while James grabbed stuff from around his room. She was looking around curiously as she sat on the edge of his bed. "How in the world does your dorm room look _exactly_ like this room?"

James laughed. "I have no idea. Dumbledore obviously has been here many times, but I was just as surprised that first night at Hogwarts as you are right now."

Once he was ready, he grabbed her things with his, before stopping at both Lauren's and Sirius' rooms, and after a few minutes, all four of them were making their way into the living room. They were not surprised to see Alastor Moody waiting for them on the couch. "All set then? Good. You're going by floo to Dumbledore's office so James, if you please."

James nodded and waved his wand in a pattern silently. Within a minute or so, a magical roll of parchment appeared in front of him, hanging in mid-air. He waved his wand a few more times at the parchment, saying names each time, "Alastor Moody, Lily Evans, and Sirius Black."

Then, he repeated the names once more before turning his attention to them, the magical parchment still open. "You can all go ahead. Apparition is sealed to just the family, but you three were added for flooing. Moody you can floo to wherever you need to. You guys all go ahead so I can seal the house once again before going through myself."

Moody nodded. "You four behave yourselves. I'm sure I'll see you all again at some point."

Everyone thanked him for being around for the weekend before he flooed to the ministry. Sirius, Lauren, and Lily then followed, but went to the Headmaster's Office. James looked around the house carefully before repeating the three names, effectively taking them off of the list for flooing. He then repeated the intricate pattern with his wand to hide the magical parchment once more. He sighed before throwing down some floo powder, saying clearly, "Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Christmas at Hogwarts

James stepped out of the fire in Dumbledore's office, brushing off the soot as he walked. When he glanced up, Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling at him. "I trust everything is well at Potter Manor, James?"

James just gave him a small smile. "Never better, Sir."

He noticed Lily, Sirius, and Lauren had all waited for him, and his grin turned rather mischievous. "Ready to go have our run of the castle?"

Sirius smiled back broadly, Lauren started giggling, and Lily just gave him a look although she was still smiling. Dumbledore chuckled. "Do keep things to a minimum, James. No need to give Professor McGonagall any grey hairs. Besides, including you four, there are only a total of sixteen students in the castle."

Sirius' eyes widened. "That's too bad. I always figured more kids stayed."

Dumbledore sighed. "Not necessarily. That said, however, I am expecting an appointment soon and must send you all on your way. Off you go then. Mr. Lupin arrived an hour earlier and should be in Gryffindor tower."

They all nodded and left the Headmaster's Office. Everyone dropped off their things, and Christmas Break at Hogwarts began. After a day or so, things got rather boring so they all tried to find things to do in the interim. James and Sirius would drag Lauren and Remus to go play quidditch. Lily had already told James that she would be horrible and hadn't been on a broom properly in three years. She would occasionally watch, but it soon became rather chilly for her to be just sitting outside. Other times, they would all end up on the grounds in the snow. They usually went to visit Hagrid, but somewhere along the way back, it would always end in an all out snowball fight. Lily always managed to win though because she was so gifted with Charms. She would levitate, summon, and banish snowballs so quickly, none of them ever saw them coming. Of course, whenever James and Sirius finally stole her wand, she would immediately be defeated.

James would often pull Lily away from her reading to take her for walks on the grounds, saying she shouldn't be stuffed up in the Heads' common room over break. He showed her every single secret passageway in the castle, they had lunch in the kitchens one day, and they actually walked all the way around the Black Lake at one point. Lily loved it. She had no idea how she had ever thought James was annoying. Now, she just wanted to be around him constantly. She couldn't think of another person who made her smile like he did.

A few times, he hadn't managed to pull her away from the Heads' common room because she actually was invested in her reading. He would just sit with her during those times, doing some reading of his own or catching up on homework until she wanted to leave. Other times, he would try (and usually succeed) to distract her using his own persuasive charm, which almost always led to some fun snogging on the couch, not that she was complaining in the slightest. The boy could really kiss, and if there was one thing she liked to do more than read, it was kiss him.

When she did manage to stay reading, she focused on Potions, mainly for Remus, but also Occlumency and Leglimency. She had already begun brewing a potion for Remus prior to going home, but it was finally just about finished. Since she wanted to give it to him for Christmas, she was looking at various ways to perfect it. As for the Occlumency and Leglimency, she felt completely lost and inadequate. She had read five books on the subject over the course of a few weeks, but still found herself fumbling through trying it out practically. She wasn't sure she was ready for someone to just start prying into her head to practice though. However, what she remembered James telling her about the subject, sometimes that was the best way to learn how to block— that brute force would show you just what was at stake and how it feels which would help initially to set up a beginning and then further and less aggressive practicing would help one realize how to make the block stronger. She was sure James would have to be the one to practice with, as he mentioned learning from Dumbledore and his father. Dumbledore was far too busy and his father was gone. She would have to broach the subject with him soon.

It was now late Christmas Eve and the boys had run off doing Merlin knows what within the castle. Lauren had been up in her room, avoiding the boys all day, most likely getting some sleep after all the things they'd dragged her to do over the last few days. Lauren was quite the tomboy, but even she couldn't keep up with what must be male-crazed energy. Lily, meanwhile, was sitting and skimming over her reading in the Heads' common room, still confused about Occlumency. After a few minutes of feeling at her most confused, James made his way past the sphinx with a smile. "Hey, you. I told the guys and Lauren to come here to open presents tomorrow morning. I stopped by the kitchens and the house elves said they'd be happy to re-route some of the breakfast food here for us. What have you been up to?"

Lily shrugged and tossed her book in his lap after he sat down next to her. "Just reading. I'm still not sure about this whole Occlumency thing. As for Christmas, that sounds like a great idea, but if that's the case, I think we need to do a little decorating before tomorrow morning…"

He frowned. He could see this Occlumency thing was bothering her more than she was letting on, but he wasn't so worried about it anymore for reasons that would be revealed tomorrow. He still wanted her to learn of course, but he could help her with that in a bit. "Well… How about we decorate the place first and then I help you with Occlumency right after?"

Lily sighed. "Ok." She looked around the room briefly. "So I'm thinking the overwhelming scarlet and gold has to be changed…and we need a tree…hmmm…and lights of some kind."

James furrowed his eyebrows as he pulled the two of them up so they were standing and could see the room better. "Well, let me do a little transfiguration here and then you can charm the place, ok?"

Lily nodded and watched as he transfigured a blank piece of parchment into a large tree, placing it in the corner near the entrance to their dorm rooms. He then looked over at her briefly before transfiguring, with a grand wave of his wand, all of the scarlet in the room to red, but it was a shade of red that seemed to be the exact color of her hair. He transfigured a lot of the gold to a combination of silver, gold, and green. He conjured a number of wreaths, hanging them about. He then conjured a bunch of fairy lights that seemed to twinkle all over the ceiling. He took a deep breath before conjuring an assortment of candles that appeared on the coffee table. "Ok, you can charm those candles to float in the air, like they do in the Great Hall. Then, you do whatever charms you want to and tell me what you want for the tree."

Lily was looking around at his decorations in awe. He was incredible with conjuring spells. She then flicked her own wand, sending the candles flying into the air. The candles all lit up as she went along placing them in different areas and heights across the room. She then pointed to all his conjured fairies near the ceiling, charming them to dance hypnotically slow so they were not fluttering and flickering about so quickly. The effect was illuminating as their shadows and lights mingled with that of the candlelight. She frowned as she turned to their empty tree, and pointed to another piece of parchment. "Could you transfigure that to a star for the tree top?"

James did as she requested, and Lily charmed it to sit on the tree and light up in an assortment of colors. He then conjured tiny lights and placed them on the tree, which Lily immediately charmed to match the star. He glanced over at her. "Ornaments? What kind?"

Lily looked thoughtful. "We could do an assortment of colors and sizes. I could change the lights to all white light if it looks funny."

James conjured the ornaments and helped Lily place them all over the tree. As they stared critically at the tree, Lily frowned and flicked her wand. The lights and star all changed to a bright white light that seemed to shimmer on the pine needles. The light reflected on the shiny multi-colored ornaments, making them glow softly. James whistled. "Nice charm. I like that."

Lily chuckled and leaned into his side with her arms around him. "So anything else?"

James rubbed his arm down her back as he surveyed the room. The furniture, once colored scarlet, was now a combination of red, green, silver, and gold; the tree was perfect; the carpeting had even been changed to match the red motif with his overall transfiguration of the color scheme. He kissed her forehead and shrugged. "Not really. Nox."

The lighting dimmed so it was just the tree lights, the fairies, and the candles. He looked around and frowned slightly. "I think that tomorrow morning, the candles won't be necessary because it will be light out, but I like them."

Lily pulled away from him slightly, flicking her wand around the room a few times. "Ok, now the light that will come in through the windows tomorrow will be dimmed as it enters the room, which should keep the room in minimal light like this. That should help."

James smiled and hugged her to him. "You're brilliant."

She just shrugged innocently in his arms. "Well, you know…"

He leaned down and captured her lips for a few seconds, before whispering against her lips, "And so modest too…"

She laughed as he tickled her sides. "Hey! That's not fair!"

He maneuvered the both of them to the couch and plopped them down together. He grabbed the Occlumency book she had been reading before turning his attention back to her. "I was just teasing. So what is bothering you about this? I can try to answer your questions, but really the best way to learn is to just do it."

She sighed and leaned over him, fumbling through the pages of the book for what she had last been looking at. "I know. It's just these relaxation exercises are so tedious, and I have trouble focusing."

He skimmed over the page she had turned to, before sighing. "If you don't mind, I can try and see what kind of block you are setting up so I can tell you what to practice on. However, I have to warn you that what you have set up will likely crumble, and I would see whatever memories fly to the surface. I won't use brute force at first, but once you get better, I'll have to so you know how to fight it."

Lily's brow furrowed. "Does it hurt?"

James sighed. "Not really. I used to get a few headaches when my Dad and Dumbledore were trying extremely hard to break into my defenses. It actually feels like having the Imperius Curse cast on you. Have you ever been subjected to that?"

Lily shook her head, looking at him slightly alarmed. He was definitely implying that he had been subjected to that illegal curse. "You've had that done to you?"

James gave her an uneasy look. "Nothing bad happened. My Dad thought it best I learned what it felt like so I wasn't left defenseless. It's a very dangerous and popular curse— even average wizards could cast that Unforgivable without any real practice. It's like a voice in your head telling you to do things, but you have to mentally find your own mental voice and fight against it. This is hard, which is why it's an Unforgivable; most people can't fight it off without proper practice, if at all in most cases, and the people casting it on you will use that to their advantage. Leglimency is similar because your thoughts will be swimming in front of you, and they are no longer within your control. It would be your job to fight against the Leglimency using your own mind, just as you would have to do in order to fight off the Imperius Curse. Do you see the similarities?"

Lily nodded. "So that's what Occlumency does in response to someone invading your mind?"

James made a face. "Sort of. For example, when I enter your mind, I will face whatever block you have prepared, whether it's just blackness, a wall, or whatever. However, seeing as you have never fought to keep whatever block you are using or strengthened it enough, it will likely crumble, and I will be able to enter your mind. Once I have entered you mind, your thoughts will swim in front of you, no longer in your control, but in mine. What you have to do is use your mind to bring forth the blocking mechanism once more so I can no longer penetrate your thoughts. You would essentially be using your mind to push me out. There are other ways of doing it, of course, but _that_ is the way you want to learn. The other ways include focusing on me and attacking me with your wand while I am occupied within your mind. I also remember using a shield charm once which reversed the connection briefly, but my Dad pushed me out without even blinking."

Lily felt a little better about the whole thing. Besides, it was just James, and he would never hurt her. "Ok."

James looked her over carefully, a bit hesitant. "You're sure you don't mind me entering your head?"

Lily gave him a small smile. "I trust you. I've got nothing to hide."

James nodded and then got up with her. He led her over to sit in the armchair while he pulled one of the chairs from the table so he was sitting across from her in front of the fireplace. "Ok, ready your mind with your block, and _please_ try not to kill me with your wand. I'd prefer not to be disfigured on Christmas."

Lily gave him a cheeky smile before concentrating hard on her block, a large brick wall surrounding her memories. James watched her for a few moments before pointing his wand at her, looking into her beautiful green eyes, and saying softly, "Leglimens."

Lily immediately felt his presence in her head as it slammed into her brick wall. He was right when he said it didn't hurt at all, but trying to keep up the brick wall was rather taxing and she could feel her energy levels drop instantly; not to mention that she was sure James was barely even trying. Sure enough, within a second of her thinking that, James broke through her defenses. She watched the brick wall crumble before her and her vision swam.

_She was five, running around the front of her house furiously in a frilly yellow dress as her mother chased after her, shouting that she only had to wear the dress for a couple of hours._

_She was nine, talking angrily to a boy who had been picking on Petunia. The boy suddenly had boils all over him._

_She was eleven, meeting with Professor Dumbledore in her living room. He was smiling at her while he spoke with her parents, who were looking rather mystified and impressed at the whole idea of magic. Petunia was standing off to the side with an unsure and upset look on her face._

_She was eleven, walking into the Great Hall for the first time, admiring the ceiling and talking excitedly with a brunette who would eventually be sorted into Ravenclaw._

Finally, her vision returned to normal, and James was looking at her concerned. "Are you alright? I cut it off since I didn't notice you trying to fight it as much as you were initially."

Lily noticed he had gotten up out of his chair and was now kneeling in front of her. She supposed she was a bit disoriented. "No, I'm fine. I see what you mean about once you're memories begin swimming in front of you. It's very difficult to try and fight that away. It's mesmerizing— you almost don't want to fight it at all."

James nodded while he conjured her a glass of water. "Yes. Now you see why it's a highly useful skill to know how to not let that happen."

Lily sighed and gave him a weak smile. "On the upside, I think I understand the reading a whole lot better."

James chuckled. "Well, I entered your mind so that you would notice, which you did. I let you get your bearings before trying a bit harder, which was when your wall crumbled. Now, there _are_ people who can enter your mind without you noticing, but if they are able to penetrate your wall, you will then begin to notice. I wanted you aware that I was in your head so you would know what an invasion felt like. You were doing pretty well for someone just starting, but most people won't be as kind as I was, letting you strengthen your wall a bit before continuing. My best advice is to practice clearing your mind, especially at night. The relaxation exercises you were asking about help with that. Try and make your wall stronger each night before you go to sleep. Soon, the wall will be so strong that you won't need to force it to be strong like you were doing. That takes a lot of energy that you will need while you are supposed to be getting rid of the person trying to invade your head. That energy shouldn't be concentrating on strengthening your wall."

Lily nodded. "Right."

He gently picked her up so he could sit down on the armchair and pull her onto his lap. "So you really gave a kid boils?"

Lily laughed. "Yes. I told you I had accidental magic a lot. Now, tell me about tomorrow. What time is everyone coming?"

James sighed. He was a bit distracted by Lily running her fingers over his forearms as he had his hands resting around her hips. "Umm, I told them to get dressed and be here by 9am. If I didn't say that, Sirius would have shown up here at 4am, probably naked or in nothing more than his boxers jumping around like a lunatic. I suppose Remus and Lauren would probably have got him to put some pants on, but still. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Lily giggled. "I see. Well, I guess we should get some sleep. Happy Christmas."

James smiled at her. "Happy Christmas."

Lily leaned over and kissed him goodnight. He sighed when she pulled back after a minute or so. "Night, Lils."

"Night, James."

Lily was just about ready the next morning at about 8am. She had pulled on a pair of her jeans with a green camisole and a white v-neck cashmere jumper to finish. It wasn't red, but she still felt Christmasy. She had parted her hair off center and used a barrette to pull some of it back. She opened her door, hoping to organize a few things before the rest of them got there, only to find herself looking at James, who had obviously had the same idea. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. With his dark hair, his hazel eyes, being the only color in his ensemble, seemed to gaze into her more strongly than usual. He had turned around at the sound of her door, and his eyes widened at the sight of her. "Wow. You look beautiful."

Lily wasn't expecting the compliment so she blushed. "Thanks. It's Christmas."

James smiled wickedly. "It certainly is. What are you doing up so early?"

She shrugged. "I thought I would help organize things, but it looks like there's not much left to do."

She was right. The house elves had already dropped off food and pumpkin juice, which was now sitting on the coffee table; the presents had all been re-routed to under their tree; and James must have tidied up a bit because the parchment and books that had been left around were now put away over on the study table. James sighed and gestured towards the now clean room. "I couldn't sleep. Sirius was shouting at me through the mirror last night, waking me up in intervals. I thought I would tidy up a bit or do something useful."

Lily nodded and sat down with him on the couch. "If Sirius was up all night, I imagine he'll be here soon, correct?"

James nodded, pulling her closer to him. "He'll need to get Remus and Lauren first though."

Lily wasn't disappointed when he leaned over and kissed her softly, with one of his hands running through her hair. He deepened the kiss a little, but ultimately pulled back to look in her eyes. "So do you want your present now?"

Lily's eyes were mischievous. "You want me to open it without everyone here, am I right?"

James shrugged, but his eyes were twinkling at her assessment. "They'll rag on me either way so it's up to you."

Lily smiled. "Ok then."

James summoned two things from the collection of presents, and they landed in front of her. One was a small box and the other was a larger rectangular box. She looked at him quizzically. "You didn't have to get me jewelry, James."

He just laughed at her knowing at least one of her presents. "Of course, I did! It's a boyfriend's job. Besides, you only wear that ring on your middle finger and your watch. I can get you something."

She absentmindedly played with the ring he mentioned. She honestly had no idea he paid that much attention to detail, but she found it rather endearing. "This was from my grandmother."

He just shrugged and gestured impatiently for her to open her presents. She opened the small box first, and when she caught a glimpse of what was inside, she couldn't help but gasp a bit. It was absolutely beautiful. It was a white gold necklace with a white gold lily pendant. However, the pendant in question was littered with sparkling diamonds and outlined in emeralds. "James, I can't possibly accept this! It had to have been outrageously expensive!"

James just guffawed and waved his hand like it was nothing. "Lily, I had that made for you. There's not another like it anywhere. Besides, I do have the money to spend, and I choose to spend it on you. I also had some extra things done to it for you."

Lily was looking at him like he was crazy, but the necklace was beautiful. Her fingers grazed over it gently. "How'd you have it made? And what kinds of extra things? Like what you did with Lauren's satchel?"

James gave her a small smile. "I drew it, of course. I knew what I wanted so I sent the drawing over to a jeweler my Dad used to use for my Mum. There's an anti-copy spell on the necklace, and the drawing was destroyed. As for the extra things, there were the basic charms making it unbreakable and whatnot, but there were some others that I had someone else do for me for you."

Lily was curious now. "Like what?"

James' brow furrowed. "Well, there is a strong shield charm attached, making certain spells hard to get through to you or even affect you at all. However, the main thing was a complicated charm to produce a sort of Occlumency shield for you. It isn't impervious, which is why you should still continue to learn, but it will help. Think of it as…extra strength that goes towards your mental block that you yourself use. That way, it won't take as much energy to hold up the block and you can use your own energy to deflect your attacker and push him from your mind instead."

Lily was amazed that he was her boyfriend. He thought of everything and obviously cared very much about her. She cared for him just as much, without a doubt. It wasn't really anything he had said to her, but it was more what he hadn't said that made her feel special. She leaned over and kissed him gently. "I love it. It's absolutely beautiful."

James kissed her cheek and grinned at her happily. He immediately pulled out the necklace, pinning it around her neck for her. "I was hoping you'd say that."

She laughed, before turning her attention to the other present. "You didn't have to get me anything else, you know."

He chuckled. "This one was very last minute. You actually gave me the idea after that dinner with your parents."

She was rather confused, but her confusion ended when she saw what was inside. She smiled softly, and her green eyes sparkled back over at him. "This is lovely! How did you get a picture of this?"

James looked down at the picture in question, smiling at the two of them dancing in the muggle restaurant. In the picture, the two of them were laughing and smiling and James would spin her, dip her, and kiss her softly, just like he had done that night. "I used a pensieve. I know someone who has one so I just entered the memory and took a picture for you."

Lily wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you. You're amazing."

James blushed a bit. "Well—"

He was cut off by Lily kissing him, not that he minded in the least. He didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss and pull her onto his lap. He hadn't a care in the world until, "Oi! Do you two mind?"

The two of them broke apart to look over at Sirius, who was looking at them as if he was ill. Lauren was fanning herself with a smile while Remus was grinning wickedly at them. James just smiled innocently. "Oops, guess we didn't hear you."

Lily giggled at his words. Lauren shrugged, but gestured impatiently. "Ok, so what did you get her, Jimmy?"

James sighed and helped Lily to turn in his lap so they could see her necklace. They all oohed and ahhed over her necklace, but Sirius just gave him a look. "You're whipped, my friend. 100% whipped."

Remus started choking on some pumpkin juice he had been drinking. "Leave him be…even if it's true."

Lauren and Lily were laughing at the boys' words. James rolled his eyes, but after glancing back at Lily with a smile, he turned back to his friends resignedly. "Well, if this is whipped, it's not so bad. You two should try it some time."

Sirius and Remus guffawed. Lauren was looking at James and Lily with a knowing smile on her face. Lily looked over at James, her eyes twinkling. "If you want whipped, I'll show you whipped."

James glared at her playfully. "That's enough out of you, lady."

Everyone was soon helping themselves to breakfast and grabbing their presents. Sirius rushed through his presents like a kid in a candy store. He got tons of different Zonko's products and Honeyduke's chocolates from the guys, a black jumper from Lily (Lily was the first to point out that the jumper was 'black'— haha), and a new black cloak from Lauren (Lauren mentioned to everyone that he had ruined his at the funeral by trying to play with fire because he was bored). Lily frowned when she noticed he hadn't received anything from his parents.

Remus received different Zonko's products and Honeyduke's chocolate than Sirius had received from the Marauders, a bunch of clothes and blueberry muffins from his parents, a dark blue jumper from Lauren, and a collection of potion vials from Lily. He had looked at her questioningly until she explained what she had attempted to do— create a compound potion that would counter the effects of his sickness and weakness leading up to the full moon. Remus' face lit up and he immediately gave her a big hug, eliciting comments from James' about keeping his hands off of his girl. Lily just smiled and told him that if it wasn't exactly right, she could make adjustments to it as needed.

Lauren had received gift certificates to Gladrags from the Marauders minus James (Remus and Sirius explained that they refused to go in there to shop for a girl and that going in when they needed robes occasionally was bad enough), her satchel from James (Lauren had given him a big hug for that), a crystal thestral figurine from her friend Tasha, and a dark purple cashmere jumper from Lily. She had also received a rather large set of DADA books and a gorgeous forest green winter coat that was similar to Lily's black one from someone who had signed the card _GAD_. Her hazel eyes were sparkling over her new coat, and she immediately began looking through her new collection of books.

Lily had received similar gift certificates to Gladrags from the remaining Marauders, an emerald green v-neck jumper from Lauren, a bunch of muggle clothes and oatmeal cookies from her parents, a pink jumper from her sister Petunia (James immediately transfigured the color to dark blue per Lily's request), a couple of picture frames and some scented candles from Shelley, and a cream colored zip up jumper from Christina.

James had received a bunch of Zonko's products and Honeyduke's chocolate from the guys, a couple of jumpers from Lauren, and a muggle set of sketchbooks, pens, and pencils plus a book on how to use them from Lily. His face had immediately lit up when he saw Lily's present and he thanked her by kissing her, causing the others to groan and avert their eyes as if they were scorched by the sight. He also had received a large set of Transfiguration and Ward books as well as a new broom, the latest and best model which had come out about a year ago— the Nimbus 1500. His latter presents had also been from the mysterious _GAD_.

The guys were going crazy over the new broom. Sirius was talking rapidly about how the Nimbus series could never be beaten. It had only been around for ten years now and this was now the third broom from them, the first being the Nimbus 1000 (which was James' old broom) and then the Nimbus 1001. Lily was lost after a while so she addressed her curiosity about the gift giver. "Who's GAD, James?"

Sirius shrugged and answered for him. "He and Lauren never tell. We all have no idea. It's someone in their family."

James just nodded. "Family is family, and that brings me to the fact that Lauren and I have somewhere to go really quick. We'll be back, as usual."

He gave Lily a quick kiss before leaving the Heads' Dorm with Lauren. Lily looked over at the two boys questioningly. "Where do they go? I don't get it."

Sirius sighed. "To wherever GAD is probably. They usually disappear for a while and then come back. This is my fourth Christmas with them both, and they do it every time."

Lily just nodded, but now she was more curious than before. Sure enough, James and Lauren returned within a half hour smiling and talking animatedly. They all continued to eat breakfast and chat about anything and everything, until there was loud crack. A rather ugly house elf in a tiny, tiny tea towel had appeared in front of Sirius. Lily, after seeing the Potter house elves, was rather alarmed at the horrible dirty clothing and the horrendously disgruntled features of the house elf. Sirius just scowled and looked at him warily. "What is it, Kreacher? Tell me the truth."

The house elf looked at Sirius with absolute fury on his face. He bowed slightly, although his watery grey eyes never left Sirius' piercing ones. "My Mistress bids the nasty blood traitor, Master Sirius, a Happy Christmas." And then he thrust out a poorly wrapped package.

Sirius frowned at the house elf and didn't make a move to take the package from his tiny hands. "Kreacher, I order you to tell me if there is a trick, dark spell, or anything on that package that could harm me physically or mentally in any way, shape, or form."

Lily was looking on curiously while the others were watching the interaction apprehensively. Kreacher scowled and looked fit to burst with inappropriate comments. "The nasty ungrateful brat wants to know if my Mistress tries to kill him. He is a blood traitor of the worst sort, yes, but my Mistress will not kill him. How Kreacher wishes his Mistress would change her mind."

Sirius sighed and grabbed the package tentatively. His eyes darkened, and his voice was laced with sarcasm, "That's touching, Kreacher. I think the same of you."

Kreacher scowled at him as he opened the gift. It was a book entitled: 'Pure-Bloods: Keeping Yourself Proper and Distinguished.' Sirius rolled his eyes. "Tell my mother thanks, but no thanks. I'm already a proper pure-blood, thank you very much."

Kreacher grabbed the book from him, hugging it to his little body. "Nasty Master! Yous…yous crush my Mistress' heart every day, such a disappointment yous is! Yous is a disgrace to the Noble House of Black!" He glanced around the room at the lot of them, sniffing with disapproval. "Ungrateful Master hangs around Gryffindor filth— nothing but blood traitors, a half breed, and now a Mudblood, who Kreacher can see."

Everyone gasped in surprise at the house elf's foul language; both James and Sirius began yelling at the house elf. Sirius cut James off, looking furiously at the house elf, his grey eyes now as cold as ice. "_Kreacher_, I have _ordered_ you not to use that offensive word around me."

Kreacher just smiled nastily. "Yes, but my Mistress says I can say whats I please around you, Master Sirius, blood traitor and scorn of my Mistress' flesh—"

Sirius cut him off angrily with a wave of his hand, "That's enough, Kreacher. I order you to go away. Take that offensive book with you."

Kreacher just looked at him smugly before snapping his fingers and disappearing with a crack. Sirius forced a smile at the lot of them. "Sorry about that. Gotta love Mum. At least she tries, huh?"

James just patted him on the back. "It's ok, mate. You have us, and I do believe you and I forgot something earlier, something that could brighten everyone's day back the way it's supposed to be."

Sirius suddenly smiled mischievously, the last few minutes with Kreacher completely forgotten. "Oh yes, I can't believe that slipped my mind!"

Remus, Lauren, and Lily were looking at the two of them like they had lost their minds. Lauren was the first to get over her confusion; she did live with the two of them and knew they were weird. "Ok, I'll bite. What is it, boys?"

James chuckled. "How lovely of you to ask, Lauren, since it is a last present for you!"

Lauren was now looking at the both of them warily. "Do I even want to know?"

Sirius nodded slowly, and his eyes were twinkling at her. "_Yes_, you do. Now, I give James full credit for coming up with the idea, but we worked out the kinks together."

James nodded affirmatively to Sirius' summary, and with a flick of his wand, a white envelope appeared in his hands. "Yes, and while it is _your_ present, I do say that every single one of us, plus Tasha I'm sure, will reap the same benefits as you."

Lily and Remus were both completely lost, but watched on as James handed the envelope over to a curious Lauren. She opened it carefully and upon reading whatever was inside, she immediately smiled brightly and squealed before leaping to hug James, sending the both of them crashing to the floor. "Oh my GOD! Are you _serious_?"

Lily and Remus laughed at the sight of James being squashed by an overzealous Lauren, who continued squealing in excitement. Sirius grumbled over being forgotten. "No, _I_ am."

Lauren rolled her eyes at Sirius playfully before hugging him just as she had James, although with slightly less vigor. James, meanwhile, was righting himself up so he could sit near Lily again. He was rubbing his lower back as he grimaced playfully. "That hurt, Lauren."

Lauren was practically beaming. "Shut up. I _love_ you right now, Jimmy."

James guffawed, but smiled at seeing her so happy. "Good. That makes things easier to get away with…"

Lily laughed. "So what is it?"

Remus nodded, indicating an explanation would be welcome. Lauren just smiled and bounced up and down in excitement. "We're all going to _Miami_ for Spring Break! It's a Christmas and birthday present for me! Isn't that _so_ cool? I've been wanting to go for forever! It's how my parents met! I thought Aunt Judy and Uncle Drew didn't want me to go, Jimmy? How'd you ever persuade them?"

James shrugged. "You are turning seventeen, Lauren… I spoke with them about it, but you will be of age, you'll pass your apparition test with no problem, and technically, you could just go on your own. However, Sirius and I thought it would be better if we went with you so you wouldn't be by yourself. So now it's a Spring Break belated birthday party for you with all of us in this room, plus Tasha and Peter."

Remus shrugged, a bit disappointed. "I don't think I can go. Doesn't the full moon fall on one of those days in Spring Break?"

Sirius and James' faces fell. Sirius groaned. "I knew we forgot to look at _something_! Maybe you could come for some of it and then portkey back here, Moony."

James nodded at the suggestion, and then looked over at Lily excitedly. "You'll come, won't you? It wouldn't be the same without you there. We rented a huge townhouse in a magical area so we have tons of space for people to crash."

Lily smiled. "I would love to come, but I will have to go home at some point. I was supposed to get fitted for my bridesmaid dress, or as I call it, the pink dress of death, that week."

Lauren laughed and was looking at her mischievously. "You have to come, Lily! Tasha and I can only keep the boys at bay for a little while. If you're there, you'll be able to distract James and make things _so_ much easier for us."

Lily chuckled. "I don't see why not."

Sirius nodded. "Then, that's that. Remus, you are going for some of it; Lily, for all of it. Peter will be going too unless he has a really good excuse not to go— he's such a Momma's boy and likes to go home. I'm sure Tasha will be just as excited as you are Lauren."

They all spent the rest of the day relaxing, talking excitedly about the upcoming vacation, testing out James' new broom, playing in the snow, and attending the Christmas feast in the Great Hall. Dumbledore had made it so there was only one table for the sixteen students and all of the professors. There was food upon food everywhere, and Lily couldn't imagine eating anything more for the next week. James and Sirius even spiced up the occasion with crazy feats of magic, making the dinner that much more enjoyable, although Professor McGonagall tried to pretend she wasn't enjoying the magic by pursing her lips and fighting her urge to smile. By the time they all made it back to the Heads' common room late that evening, they all just sunk into the furniture utterly beat. James and Lily sat on the far right armchair together, Sirius was sprawled out on the couch, Lauren was lying comfortably on the left armchair, and Remus had conjured himself a cozy cot in front of the fireplace.

Lily maneuvered herself around on James' lap to get a bit more comfortable, and he groaned, "Owww, that hurts my stomach. Sirius, you and I have to go running at some point so I can get rid of all of the food I just ate today."

Sirius had an arm thrown over his face as he lay on the couch. He didn't even move. "Transformed or not?"

James sighed as he hoisted Lily more comfortably on his lap. She was now lying on his shoulder yawning. He played with some strands of her soft red hair absently. "I don't care. Both. We work more muscles when we're transformed, I think."

Remus groaned pitifully into his cot. "I don't even want to think about transforming right now. There's a week and a half left til full moon. I have to do it in between our detentions. I think I'm going to ask McGonagall to switch mine to the following week so I don't die."

Lauren sighed. "Don't talk like that, Remus."

He glanced over at her wearily. "If you had to deal with this, you would feel the same way."

Lauren giggled in response. "At least you have a nice body because you get a lot of…exercise."

Lily and Lauren began laughing while Sirius and James guffawed. Remus just grimaced. "Haha, Lauren. No girl would want to be with me anyway. Who would want to deal with all of my baggage?"

Lauren sighed and looked over at him sadly. "Remus, you're great. If you don't have someone by age thirty and neither do I, I'll marry you. A guy with a nice body and baggage will be my cup of tea by then, I'm sure."

Everyone was snickering, but Remus smiled faintly back at her. He knew she was just teasing him, but he liked how she made light of the situation for him. She had told him before that someday he would find someone who loved him for who he was regardless when he had whined to her before about girls. "I love you too, Lauren."

They all eventually quieted down, and it wasn't long before they all fell asleep just as they were.

The last week of Christmas Break seemed to fly by. Besides continuing their rampage within the castle and in the snow on the grounds, Lily made James catch up on his homework and the two of them began discussing the Valentine's Day dance they were going to have. James and Sirius would disappear for awhile during the days, supposedly running in the Forbidden Forest and around the Black Lake to 'work-out.' It was now the weekend before classes would resume, and the feeling of starting the semester back up again when they all had been having fun seemed so foreign and unwelcome. That didn't change the fact that it was going to be hitting them full force.

It had been an extremely long first day of the New Year. The night before, Sirius and James had procured firewhiskey somehow that left all of them with hangovers that morning; at least James had sent Reeny over to her room that morning with some sort of hangover potion that he and Sirius had created. It tasted absolutely foul, but worked almost instantaneously. She would have to get the instructions from James to see if she could get it to taste better without weakening it.

The rest of the day hadn't been much better. She had finally completed the plethora of homework for the beginning of the week back. They were going to be starting human transfiguration in detail with McGonagall, which Lily was dreading, although James had told her that he would help her. Not to mention that she just had an hour (or longer) discussion with James about the upcoming dance where she actually wrote down all of the ideas the two of them had been throwing around for the past week. They had talked decorations, whether it should include dinner, if there was no dinner then would there be food there at all, whether dates should be required, which band they should try and get that would appease everyone, what sort of dress one should wear, which years should be able to attend, etc. Grant it, the prefects would help with the final decisions on those things, but the two of them had wanted to have a prefects' meeting with some choices so they could all have something to choose from and vote on if necessary.

Lily had just retired to her dorm room for the night, hoping to get a good night's sleep. Her mind seemed to be on overload. She forced herself to relax and breathe easy, using the relaxation exercises to clear her mind like she had been practicing all week. She really wanted to get the hang of Occlumency. She hadn't had James attempt to break into her mind again that week, but with her beautiful new necklace, she knew it would be more aggressive than the last time he had tried. She wanted to be as ready as possible herself for the next time they practiced.

Her mind was still fitful, but it was as clear as it was going to get. With her brick wall firmly in place, she let herself drift off to sleep.

_She was afraid, but her fears were somewhat appeased by a man she felt extremely comfortable with. He was talking to her soothingly, and she felt loved and safe in his arms._

_Suddenly, there was a loud noise. Her fear reached new heights. She was being told by that man to leave and escape because she needed to protect something, something she loved more than anything in the whole world._

_She was running up the stairs, frightened beyond belief. Her whole body was trembling. She heard loud noises— the man she loved screaming and yelling as well as manic laughter from another. The laughter pierced her very soul and left her feeling every sense of dread. She saw flashing lights in all sorts of colors, but she couldn't turn back— even though she wanted to with every fiber of her being. That man was her everything, but so was what she needed to protect._

_She finally reached the room where she needed to be. She entered it, locking it magically, but it wasn't quick enough. The door exploded in front of her._

_She stood fierce and determined. She had to protect whatever it was with her very life if need be. She would do it. She had to do it. The love for what she was protecting was more important than anything else._

_The new man's presence made her feel disgusted, frightened, and unsafe. Yet he offered her a choice, a choice she would never make. Her fear was at paramount levels, yet she would not yield._

_His horrible high-pitched laugh made her cringe and her stomach lurch. He pushed her aside, but she entered into his path for the last time, seeing nothing but overwhelming green light…_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – Back to School

James had no idea why he was suddenly awake. It was still dark out. He made a grab for his glasses and noticed that his clock read 2:17am. He frowned. It was unlike him to just wake up randomly, but then he heard it—

"No…"

He immediately sat up, grabbing his wand. Why in the world would Lily be moaning in her dorm room? A nightmare?

"No…stop…"

He made his way quickly out into the hallway and over to her dorm, but stopped short in front of her door dejectedly. The ward. He had forgotten.

"No…please…"

His brow furrowed at her pleading tone. He hated hearing her like that. Well, he supposed he was genuinely worried about her so maybe he could make it through. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open her door and attempted to step inside quickly.

Only slightly surprised that he was able to make it through, he shut the door gently before hurrying over to her bedside. She was clutching her white comforter with one of her hands while her head was moving back and forth in anguish. He immediately grabbed the hand that was holding the comforter with one of his own and prodded her gently with the other, "Lily, sweetheart, wake up… It's just a bad dream, a nightmare. Lily?"

Lily actually tried to push him away for a few moments until she suddenly sat up with her green eyes wide, her head moving sharply to glance around the room, and her breathing slightly erratic. "James…"

He rubbed his hands over her arms to calm her. "Shhh… It's just me. It was a nightmare."

Lily leaned into him, and he was alarmed at how violently she seemed to be shaking. She was still breathing funny and shaking her head as it lie on his shoulder. "It was _horrible_."

James wrapped his arms around her, hoping to relax her some. "It's ok. Do you want to talk about it? That usually helps."

Lily's mind was still in a panicked state. For some reason, she couldn't remember many details, but how she had _felt_ was still radiating through her. Her wording became faster as she continued to talk, "I don't remember much…I mean…I was being chased because I was protecting something…I couldn't let him have it…I can still hear his horrible high-pitched laughter and then there was nothing but green light everywhere and—"

James tensed around her so she immediately stopped talking to look up at him. It was then she realized he wasn't wearing a shirt, not that she minded. "What? What is it?"

He just sighed, looking down at her rather worriedly. "Well, it's just…green light. There's only one spell that emits green light."

Lily's sleepy and panicked mind didn't understand for a moment until it dawned on her. The Killing Curse. His parents. "Oh, James, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

He waved her off, frowning. "No, it's fine. I'm more concerned about why _you_ are dreaming about something like that."

Lily shivered. "I don't know either. It was _so_ real. You have no idea."

He kissed her forehead, keeping her close to him. "Well, it wasn't. You've never had prophetic dreams before, have you?"

Lily shook her head, which was once again burrowed in his neck, so he continued as he ran has fingers through her hair, "So you see, it was nothing more than a bad dream. You should be dreaming of happy stuff. No more being worked up before you go to sleep, ok?"

She nodded, but she couldn't seem to let the dream go. She knew she was still trembling, and the man's laughter continued to echo inside her head. James seemed to be ready to leave and go back to sleep, but she really didn't want to be alone right now. She felt safer with him there. "Will you stay in here?"

He pulled back from her slightly, eyeing her in concern. Her voice sounded so small. "If you want me to."

She nodded, but when he reached up his wand to conjure a cot, he was surprised when she pushed his arm down. "No…I mean, you can just sleep here. Please?"

James ran a hand through her red hair, pushing some of it behind her ears and out of her face. He could see from her fidgety behavior that she just wanted to be held and didn't want to be alone. He was more than happy to help her relax and feel safe. It's not like they hadn't fallen asleep together before. Just because this was her bed, and they may have less clothes on didn't make it that different. Well, it was a _little_ different. He nudged her over gently, getting under her comforter. He removed his glasses before pulling her gently towards him. "Come here."

Lily let him pull her closer to him so she was lying on his chest, her hand resting over his heart. His one hand rested around her lower back while the other held the hand resting on his chest. She sighed and listened to his steady heartbeat. It was soothing, and she finally let herself begin to relax. With James there, she felt significantly better.

James felt her trembling lessen as he continued to hold her. He rubbed his fingers over her lower back gently, trying to lull her back to sleep. Seeing her so worked up, he refused to go to sleep until he was sure she was sleeping comfortably. He had no idea why she was dreaming about something so awful, but if he could make her feel better, then he would.

It took a while, but eventually he could hear and feel her soft, steady breathing as she lay on his chest. It was only then that he allowed himself to drift back to sleep.

Lily woke up slowly. She really didn't want to get up, seeing as she was quite comfortable. However, when she realized her pillow was breathing, her eyes popped opened instantly. That's when she noticed she was sleeping on a bare-chested James, in her bed no less, and everything about that night came back to her. The horrible dream. Her fears. James.

She sighed softly as she continued to lie where she was. Her body was flush against his, his arm was resting around her with his hand on her hip, and she felt safe. She had no idea why the dream had startled her so much. It was only a nightmare after all. There was just something so eerily real to it that she couldn't let go of. Now, it seemed so ridiculous that she had been so worked up over it. On the upside, knowing that James must've been genuinely worried about her enough to make it past the ward on her door made her smile. She lightly ran her fingers down his bare chest and stomach, listening to his heartbeat and him breathing softly into her hair. She really enjoyed being this close to him. Suddenly, she heard his breath hitch and his other arm, which must've been thrown up near his head, came down to land on her fingers. His sleepy voice mumbled out, "That tickles."

Lily blushed a bit, but she knew he wouldn't be able to tell. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."

James sighed and rubbed her back gently. "What time is it anyway?"

She smiled because the clock wasn't that far away from him and he could probably read it himself, even without his glasses. "About 7:30."

James groaned. "What in the world are you doing awake on the last day of our break at this awful hour of the morning?"

She giggled. "I don't know, but I'm awake."

He suddenly turned her over so she was lying on her back, and he was looking down at her with a small smile. "You're cruel. Your room is really bright too. How do you even sleep in here?"

Lily looked around the room quickly before returning her green eyes to his hazel ones. She supposed she did have a lot of white things in her room which reflected the sunlight coming in from the windows. "Come to think of it, I have no idea."

He chuckled a bit before looking at her seriously. "Do you feel any better?"

She sighed, concentrating more on the fact that he had his one hand resting on her stomach, his fingers playing with the hem of her camisole as if on their own accord, as he looked down at her. "I'll be fine. It was just a bad dream. Thanks for staying in here."

James gave her a look. "I'd be out of my mind to not sleep in a bed containing a beautiful girl." He smiled slightly at her blush but continued more seriously, "No, I was happy to make you feel better, although I'd prefer you to have happier dreams from now on."

Lily sighed. "Me too."

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I'm gonna go back to my room to try and sleep some more. I'll meet you for lunch later, ok?"

Lily nodded, now noticing that he did indeed look very tired. He must've not gotten a lot of sleep last night. James rolled away from her, grabbed his glasses and his wand, and headed for the door. However, he stopped abruptly in front if it. Lily sat up in the bed, looking back at him curiously. "What is it?"

He turned back to her with a hesitant face. "Well, I'm just hoping I don't get some weird spell placed on me when I leave, like getting thrown into the far wall or something weird for being in here when I'm no longer worried about you. I don't think Dumbledore would be that cruel though so…"

And with that, he walked out of the door quickly. She giggled when she saw him look relieved that nothing had happened to him. "You're lucky."

He turned back to her with a wink. "That's what people keep telling me."

Lily watched him walk away towards his own room before getting up herself. She closed her bedroom door and turned to get ready for her final day of relaxation, only then allowing herself to really think on the amazing view she had just had of his toned body.

It was now the middle of the first week back, and James was already missing the fun-filled days of Christmas Break. Classes had come back with renewed vigor about the upcoming NEWTs, the detentions with Filch were utterly exhausting (probably because Filch hated them as he had been the butt of many of their pranks, especially during fifth year), quidditch practices were more often now (he knew this was his own choice, but he could still be upset about it), and doing homework seemed to take forever (it was a good thing he had gotten so much done at Lily's behest over break). Then, there was Lily. He missed spending more time with her. He supposed after his detentions were finished, more time would free up.

He leaned down to kiss Lily on the cheek while she was walking next to him. She looked up at him with a smile. "What was that for?"

He sighed and just squeezed her hand. "No reason."

She hugged his arm to her as they walked down the halls of Hogwarts toward McGonagall's classroom. They had Transfiguration for the second time that week. The last class had been so boring— all theory about the ideas of human transfiguration and overlap with Potions, discussing Polyjuice. Today, they were going to be going the actual transfiguration spells and how to do it in practice. Hopefully, it would be more interesting. James, personally, was rather bored with all of it. He already knew all of this stuff by heart. He was pretty sure that Sirius knew the stuff just as well, but he actually needed more refreshing on some things than he cared to admit. James, meanwhile, had just been drawing a lot, especially when he had someone as beautiful as Lily as the subject of his drawings.

As they made their way into the classroom, James let her go before sitting down with Sirius who was already seated and chatting with Remus and Peter. Lily made her way over to Christina, who was waiting for her. A couple more students trickled in, and soon McGonagall appeared, ready to begin class immediately. "Alright everyone, quiet down. We have lots to discuss. First, we have gone over the importance of human transfiguration and how it can be done, whether through Transfiguration or by Potions, but now it is time to talk about how it can be done in practice. For that, we are going to do a quick overview of metamorphamagi and how to train to become one. Typically, you have to be born one, but there is only one person that I know of who has that ability—"

Sirius interrupted her, "Two, Professor."

Professor McGonagall turned to Sirius, looking at him surprised. Most of the class looked his way too, except for the Marauders. "Who is the other, Sirius?"

Sirius shrugged. "Andie's daughter, Nymphadora, also has the ability. She's only four right now though."

McGonagall nodded. "Oh, I see. I didn't know she had the ability too. It should figure that she inherited the ability, but to do so after a single generation is interesting. Typically, class, to be born a metamorphamagi, one has to have the ability present within their family line. It usually skips generations, but frankly, no one has been able to track it properly. The only documentation we have on the subject is from the Reiner family line, which has been eradicated for many, many years now— or so people have believed. In their genealogy record, the ability started off sporadically, but then appeared consecutively for seven generations. After that, the ability disappeared for twelve generations before resurfacing once every few generations until the family line appeared to die off. Sirius, do you have any other insights about being born with the talent?"

Almost everyone was curious as to why Sirius would know any more than she would, but the reason became clear as he began to speak. He sighed, looking hesitant on discussing the subject at all. "Not really. My cousin, Andromeda Tonks, formerly Black, was the first one born with the ability in, I think, three generations. Bella might be able to tell people more on the subject, but she is not in our class and doesn't like to speak about Andie. For Nymphadora to suddenly have the talent right after her was rather peculiar and uncommon, as from what I remember, the ability has always appeared sporadically within our family line. I'm pretty sure the Black family is one of the only family lines left that has a presence of the ability. I don't know of any other. James told me there was at least one in his family a long time ago, but the ability has never resurfaced."

McGonagall nodded and addressed the class, "Yes, 5 points to Gryffindor. I believe the Black family line is the only one left as well. There were a couple of others, but most of the lines have died out or married into different lines, somewhat eliminating the ability, like in the Potters' case. Now, for one to become a metamorphamagi, or what is called a trained metamorphamagi, one has to practice extensive human transfiguration to be able to do it effectively. It often takes a couple of years for one to master the art. One has to be able to make themselves indistinguishable from their former self, using extensive spellwork rather than being able to do it whenever one wants to as someone born with the ability can do. Now, for a demonstration of the spells. Mr. Potter."

James' eyes shot to the front of the room, surprise most likely evident on his face. Everyone was staring at him. He had been listening, but in reality, he was just drawing in the back of the classroom, not expecting to do anything for the entire hour. "Yes, Professor?"

McGonagall sighed and gestured for him to come up to the front of the room. "I'm afraid I'm going to use you as my guinea pig today, James. Maybe next week too. You already know all of the spells so you can do all of the examples for me while I teach. We can go through things faster that way. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you could be considered a trained metamorphamagi already."

James heard Sirius snickering at him so he shot him a glare. "Shut it."

Lily was smiling into her hand as she watched him walk up reluctantly toward the front of the classroom to sit on the stool that McGonagall had placed out. He saw Sirius laughing at him and looking on gleefully, so he turned to her slyly. "Would you like me to do an example, Professor?"

She just sighed and gestured for him to do whatever he was going to do to Sirius. James smiled evilly, looking back at Sirius rather carefully. He immediately started doing a bunch of spells silently, effectively changing his appearance to be pretty much an exact replica of Sirius, except he slicked his hair back and transfigured his clothes into a dark blue muggle suit. The class started laughing. James was smiling smugly (just as Sirius tended to do) when he noticed Sirius looking back at him, accepting the challenge.

Sirius guffawed, standing up in the back of the room. "You're on."

Sirius then did a bunch of silent spellwork to effectively transform himself into James, although it was from memory seeing as James currently looked like Sirius, so the effect wasn't as perfect. However, he transfigured his clothes into a white lab coat and black pants before using his hands to make James' hair messier than usual. Then, he conjured himself a set of glasses. When he put them on, he looked at everyone proudly, gesturing between himself and James. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, at your service."

Everyone, including James, laughed at their appearances. McGonagall was shaking her head at the two of them. "Thank you, boys. That will be all." And with two waves of her wand, both James and Sirius appeared exactly as they were. She turned to James with an exasperated sigh. "Now, if we could do some SMALLER examples so everyone knows what the spells are, shall we?"

Class dragged on with James helping McGonagall by doing each of the spells she was discussing. At the end of class as all of the students were packing up, he turned to McGonagall pitifully. "You're not going to make me transform into a girl, are you? I hated learning how to do that. It was awful."

She just laughed. "No, I don't go that far in this class. Aurors typically learn more advanced transfiguration during Auror training, but you might be able to pass all that transfiguration training by. I wasn't lying when I think you're a trained metamorphamagi, James. Possibly Sirius too. For the both of you to transform into each other as quickly as you did today and silently at that, well…let's just say there aren't many wizards who can do that."

James looked back at her surprised. "I didn't know that. You can do that as well though, can't you, Professor?"

She just looked back at him pointedly. "I wouldn't be the Transfiguration Professor if I couldn't. Now, you best be on your way. Besides, you have a lovely young lady waiting for you."

James turned to where she was gesturing and noticed that Lily was waiting by the door for him, looking absently over her notes from the class. "That I do. See you later this afternoon, Professor."

He approached Lily quickly. "Hey, beautiful. Ready to go?"

Lily nodded, and she looked up at him happily, her eyes sparkling. "Did you see Remus today? He was looking so much better than usual. I'm so excited that potion is actually working for him. He told me that he sometimes felt light-headed suddenly, but I can fix that for him. When is it again? Tomorrow night?"

James took her hand, nodding as the two of them walked. "It's tomorrow, and yeah, I did notice he looked to have more energy and he's not nearly as pale as he used to be. You should make sure to teach the potion to him. He'll be in your debt forever. It was because of the potion that he didn't switch his detentions, saying he felt just fine."

She smiled. "I'll do that. Are you going to go with him tomorrow night? I'm pretty sure both you and Sirius are going to be drained because of detentions AND quidditch, not to mention when you are finding time to do any homework..."

James sighed. "Well, probably not. I have lots to get done, and I suppose I will be tired too. Pete is the only one who could go, but since he's a rat, it's kinda pointless without Sirius and me."

Lily's brow furrowed. "Oh, speaking of Peter, did you guys ask him about Miami yet?"

He shrugged, frowning slightly. "Sirius mentioned it to him, but he said his parents already had plans to go out to Ireland to see the rest of his family and he, quote unquote, 'cannot miss it for anything.' Lauren mentioned the trip to Tash too, and the both of them became giggling girls in my company so I went on my way as quickly as possible. She's definitely in."

Lily nodded with a smirk. "Good. Another girl to even out the testosterone. Greta came back with a letter from my Mum this morning, and while she'd much rather have me at home, I'd rather be as far away as possible. However, I am duty bound to inform you that BOTH of us are supposedly required to come to my house for the weekend before we return to school. She insists you are present. I still have to get fitted for that damn dress too."

James snickered. "It won't be that bad, will it? And I don't have a problem visiting your family. I think Petunia and I got along fantastically."

She gave him a look. "Oh, laugh it up. At least she shouldn't be staying at the house this time, but instead, will be at her apartment. She'll make it a point to drop in daily though. I'm dreading going to this fitting with her. I can just see her smirk as I waltz around in some ugly pink gown."

He brought up their entwined hands, kissing the back of hers. His eyes were amused by her rant. "Lily, it _won't_ be that bad. I promise. Anyway, I thought you said that she was choosing a pale pink color which wouldn't be that awful with your hair. Although if it really bothers you that much, you could always transfigure your hair to a different color for the day so you feel more comfortable…"

Lily frowned. "You've never seen me in any shade of pink before so how would you know? And I can guarantee that me using magic to get out of looking dumb won't go over well either, but I'll keep it in mind for a last minute fix."

James laughed, pulling her into a one-armed hug and kissing her neck. "Stop that. You're _always_ beautiful."

They eventually made their way to the rest of their classes for the day, and then James made his way reluctantly to detention with the Marauders. They were there until 11:30pm, cleaning the Trophy Room with a toothbrush and without magic. Filch seemed to think it was funny, but at least all four of them had been together. When Filch had returned from leaving them alone for a while, he was more than a little angry to find that although everything he had asked them to do was done, the four of them were covered from head to toe in the soapy water with huge grins on their faces. He furiously returned their wands to them and sent them back to their common rooms.

They all dried their clothes and scourgified themselves magically as they headed back. James said goodbye to the three of them before heading to the Heads' Dorm. When he made his way tiredly past the sphinx gargoyle, he smiled softly at Lily sitting in the back corner table writing over some parchment. It was oddly alluring watching her concentrate on homework. She would usually lean onto one hand, her green eyes narrowed at the parchment, with her quill twirling in her fingers. "Hey. Sorry about patrol. Filch kept us there a long time."

She smiled up at him cheekily. "No big deal. Now, you just owe me a night where I can hang out with Christina instead."

He sat next to her and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Done."

Lily watched him as he tiredly pulled out his books and parchment. "It's late, and you're going to do homework?"

James yawned and nodded. "Yep."

Lily was concerned. She knew that he had detentions, quidditch, and patrol filling up his evenings so he really didn't have any time during the week to do his homework, but still. Everyone needed a break. "What about sleep?"

He gave her a small smile, running his hand over the side of her pretty face. "Don't you worry about me. I'll be fine. The detentions this week are just throwing off my free time. Next week, things will be different. I'll catch up on sleep this weekend. We have to have a prefects' meeting next week for the Valentine's Day dance too."

Lily nodded. "Do you want some help right now?"

James sighed. "No, that's ok. I never have to do Transfiguration, except for a couple of things she asks me to do in our additional meetings. Slughorn's essay I've already done. Charms wasn't so bad, and I'm almost finished with that. Herbology and Divination aren't done, but I was going to finish them now. I can probably finish DADA during breakfast or lunch tomorrow, and I have all of my drawings done for Care of Magical Creatures, plus some new ones of you, of course."

Lily was still looking at him skeptically. "If you're sure."

He grinned at her. "I am."

Lily rolled her eyes at him for being so difficult. "You're _really_ stubborn, you know that?"

He laughed, running his fingers through her soft red hair. "Yes, but so are _you_."

Lily woke up hazily. She had a vague recollection that it was the end of the second week of classes so she didn't have to get up for class that morning. Something shifted beneath her, and she realized she had yet again fallen asleep with James in the Heads' common room that week. They had been doing that a lot lately, probably because the little private time the two of them had together currently consisted of homework and Heads' discussions. Last night, they had been up late doing homework together and finalizing everything for the Valentine's Day dance. They had had two prefects' meetings that week to organize everything and divvy up responsibilities for things, but since people were having a hard time agreeing, she and James had left it to a majority vote during the last meeting. Now, they were having a dinner and a dance for the fourth years and above with some band called Jinx This. James had told her he thought the band sucked. When she had actually taken a listen, she had to agree. However, what the fifth and sixth year prefects had wanted, they got because they outnumbered the seventh years. Oh, well…at least the vote for clothing turned out to be that students could wear either muggle dress clothes or dress robes.

She had no idea how they had ended up lying comfortably together on the couch last night though, not that she was upset about it. She actually liked waking up next to him; there was just something about sleeping next to a guy you cared about and who cared for you in return. There was also something about having a guy's arms around you generally; she liked James' arms around her— a lot. She sighed softly, surveying their current situation. She was wedged into the inside of the couch lying on James' chest, but he had turned a bit so he was now facing her somewhat. She pulled back slightly and watched him as he slept. He was so handsome. If she told him that, he'd probably give her a weird look and get all embarrassed. That just made her smile.

She nudged him gently in the chest. "James, wake up."

James' brow furrowed in protest, but he did open his eyes to look at her briefly. "No."

She laughed when his eyes closed again, and he tightened his arms around her. She continued to poke him in his sides playfully. "Yes. Yes. Yes."

After a few moments of grumbling over her prodding him, he sighed. "_Ok_. I'm up. I'm up."

They both kind of sat up together, considering they were rather tangled into each other. James looked over at her, a bit disoriented. "Is today the Hogsmeade weekend, or is that next weekend?"

She handed him his glasses with a look. "That's next weekend. You _really_ need to get more sleep."

James poked her in her sides. "No need to get cheeky. Maybe I'll force the quidditch team to have practice today instead of spending time with my beautiful girlfriend."

She rolled her eyes and pushed his chest playfully. "Yes, I'm sure that is _exactly_ what you will do."

He kissed her gently. "I'm going to take a shower and a pepperup. You and I are going to do something fun today. I miss you. I have homework to do later though."

She smiled at him. "How can you miss me? I'm right here!"

He just sighed as he stood up stretching. "You know what I mean. I'll see you in a bit."

Lily watched him walk away before heading to her own room. He was right. Besides a few rather fun snogging sessions here and there, both of them had been rather busy, James more than she was. The two of them hadn't actually sat down to talk about nothing or have no agenda for a couple of hours since Christmas Break. She missed him too.

She was getting ready when she heard ticking on her window. When she looked over, she was surprised to see a brown owl outside on the window sill. She immediately opened the window to let the owl in. He landed on her bed and stuck out his leg in a rather dignified way. It was a letter from Shelley. Lily immediately opened it up as the owl departed. Shelley thanked her for her Christmas gift, mentioned details about her healing classes, and suggested that they meet up in Hogsmeade during the next Hogsmeade weekend. Lily sighed. That would be next weekend. She hoped James wouldn't mind, but she hadn't seen Shelley since the summer. Letters weren't always enough.

She quickly finished getting ready before heading back out into the common room. James was already waiting for her, but he was wearing his coat. She looked at him curiously. "You want to go outside?"

James smiled at her, eyeing her up and down a bit. She was beautiful. "Yeah. It's Saturday and a lot of the students will be outside anyway, but I thought of one place we've never been."

Lily went back into her room to grab her coat, calling back out to him, "Where's that?"

"The Forbidden Forest."

Lily walked back out into the common room with her coat, eyeing him warily. "James, you know we're not supposed to be in there. Besides, when you guys do go in there for your monthly outings, you go at night, not during the day. How in the world do you expect to go in there with people walking all over the grounds today?"

He laughed. "That's what I have this for, remember?"

Lily looked to what he was gesturing to in his hands. It was a silvery looking cloak that seemed to shimmer as it moved, almost blending in with the background. She looked back at him surprised. "Your invisibility cloak?"

James smiled and grabbed her hand, leading her out into the sixth floor corridor. "Yes. You know, I realized we've never made much use out of it, seeing as we have our common room to be alone in… However, we can use it to sneak by a whole host of people to go where we need to. We just have to remember to be really quiet and to eliminate our tracks in the snow. Sirius and I learned the hard way about the last part two years ago. We haven't forgotten since."

Lily nodded and followed him to a secret passageway on the fourth floor that would lead them out of the castle. They made their way down the long tunnel, until they reached a makeshift door. James flipped the cloak around them before they headed outside. The two of them walked slowly toward the Forest, with Lily eliminating their tracks as they went. As they walked, there were groups of students playing in the snow, running around, chatting near trees, and throwing snowballs. James had to re-route a few of the snowballs so they weren't hit, which was pretty funny when one of the snowballs hit its thrower in the face. He looked to be in utter shock and went off on the people he was playing with, saying that there was supposed to be no magic involved. The gleam in James' eyes let Lily know he had done that on purpose. Eventually they reached the Forest edge, but James whispered near her ear, "Keep going. We'll take this off once we go in a bit more."

After going inside the Forest about thirty feet or so, James removed the cloak, pocketed it after shrinking it, and grabbed her hand. His eyes were full of mischief. "Now, let's go have some fun."

Lily gave him a look, but let him pull her along. "Like what, James? We're in the Forbidden Forest."

James laughed. He led her through a couple of trees before taking a path that had been set out. "Lily, you've never been in here before, right? I think we've come into a small area a few times for Care of Magical Creatures, but that's right near the school. I'm going to take you much further in. We'll probably see tons of things. The only area we have to avoid is way, way, way over there."

Lily looked to the right where he was pointing, frowning. "Acromantulas?"

James nodded. "We'll know if we get too close."

The two of them walked for a while, chatting about any and everything. Lily supposed it didn't matter what they were doing, just that she got to spend time with him where they had nothing else pulling them away from each other. She missed spending this kind of time with him. They saw a number of different creatures, but Lily had been most in awe when they had actually seen a unicorn for more than ten seconds. The two of them were laughing and talking animatedly with one another when there was suddenly a loud rumbling coming from their left. James instantly grabbed her arm, pulling her off of the path and slightly behind him. He looked unconcerned, but told her quickly, "Lily, don't say anything unless you're spoken to, ok?"

Lily was just about to ask him what he meant when she saw six Centaurs coming their way. They all stopped when they noticed the two of them. One with dark hair and a wild look in his dark eyes approached the two of them rather angrily, waving his arm containing his crossbow. He appeared incredibly cross with James. "Mr. Potter, what are you doing in the Forest _again_? It is daytime, and the full moon isn't for a few weeks so you have no reason to be here for your Werewolf friend. Have I not asked you and Mr. Black to keep out of our affairs? We do not need to be subjected to your flights of fancy."

James kept his look confident, but somewhat humble. "Hello, Bane. If we had known you would be on this path, we would have taken a different route. We did not intend to be in your way or cause a ruckus. We're just passing through."

Bane eyed him condescendingly for a moment, but seemed to consider his words. "We will be on our way then."

James nodded and looked up at him curiously. "Any advice today, Bane?"

Bane and the other Centaurs shared looks. Bane glanced down at him and then at Lily before saying evasively, "Mars has been growing brighter."

And with that, the Centaurs trotted away. Lily let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Ok, after that, I never want to see a Centaur again. They are more than a little intimidating."

James sighed, still mulling over Bane's words. "How much do you know about Centaurs? Just what's been said in Care of Magical Creatures?" When she nodded, he continued, "Well, then you know that they are immensely proud, elusive creatures. After conversing with a few of them from time to time, you come to realize how to speak with them, but the main thing is never to lie to them. They are already distrustful of wizards so you don't give them a reason to fuel that thought. It helps to compliment them and be humble. We also discuss them in Divination, which I know you're not exactly fond of. However, unlike wizards, they're usually dead on in their predictions, but because of their distrust of us, they don't share anything more than vague comments about the stars. I've never lied to Bane so he usually is somewhat trusting of me, despite his grumpy nature. For Bane to admit that Mars is growing brighter is interesting because Mars is the planet of war."

Lily surveyed him slightly. "You're not going to take Divination seriously on me now, are you?"

He shrugged. "From the Centaurs, maybe. However, if you think about it, a war has been brewing with Lord Voldemort. He may not be making much of our news right now, but there have been a number of mysterious deaths in the muggle community over the last six months."

Lily hugged his arm to her, not really wanting to bring up the last time Lord Voldemort had been in their news, for his parents' deaths. "Biding his time perhaps?"

James sighed. "My guess is he's perfecting magic. The muggle deaths have been very odd and covered up. It's almost like he's been testing out new things on the muggles since they can't fight back."

Lily was more than a little alarmed by his revelation. "How do you know about all of this?"

He gave her a small, elusive smile. "Someone's keeping me informed."

Lily frowned at him. "You shouldn't be keeping all of this to yourself, you know. It's too much to deal with."

He laughed and kissed her gently, pulling away to look into her pretty green eyes. "I'm not. I just told you."

She rolled her eyes at him, although she was smiling. "Quit being smart. Come on, let's get back."

James let Lily grab his hand and start pulling him back toward the school. They both kept the conversation more positive so by the time they were almost to the Forest edge, the two were laughing with one another and were no longer dwelling on their earlier discussion. By a look around, it seemed that most students had gone in for lunch already so they didn't bother with the cloak. They had just made it through the Entrance Hall when Lily saw Frank and Alice running rather worriedly toward the Great Hall. "Frank, Alice, what's wrong?"

The two of them stopped and hurried over to them. Alice was frantic. "Sirius and Bellatrix just started shouting at each other out in the back hallway. They're starting to draw a crowd. We were going to get a professor."

As soon as Alice had mentioned Sirius and Bellatrix, James started pulling Lily toward where Frank and Alice had been coming from. Frank and Alice tried to keep up behind them. James could hear the Sirius and Bella shouting at one another almost immediately as they approached from around the corner, but Lily was looking on curiously. "I can't hear anything."

James stopped walking abruptly, looking at her oddly, but when he noticed Frank and Alice were also looking at her rather curiously, he became incredibly angry as he growled out, "What a bitch. I'll be right back."

Lily looked back at Frank and Alice in wonderment as James walked away rather scary. "What?"

They were both looking at her sadly, like they didn't really know what to say. It took a moment or so before it finally dawned on her what was going on— some kind of 'pure-blood only' spell. She frowned. "Oh."

The three of them turned their attention back to the fight going on. There were a number of students watching from various locations, some looking as confused as Lily, but others knowing exactly what was being said. Hopefully, James would be able to diffuse the situation. He definitely looked angry enough to.

James approached Sirius and Bella, who were all up in each other's face shouting about Andromeda, metamorphamagi, his mother, her mother, Narcissa, and Merlin knows what else. He waved his wand angrily in front of him, and the both of them flew apart from each other so they were standing about ten feet from each other with James in the middle so it looked like a triangle. He glared at the two of them. "What the hell do you two think you are doing? And Bella, what's with the 'pure-blood only' silencing spell?"

Bella's dark eyes were incensed. "Stay out of this, James. What do you care anyway? Just mad because your little Mudblood girlfriend can't hear the conversation?"

James' eyes flashed dangerously, and scarlet and gold sparks shot out of his wand as it lie near his side. "_Enough_! What the hell is _so_ important that you two couldn't stay away from each other like you've been doing all year? You talk to _me_, or I'll talk to Dumbledore."

Bella actually looked a little put off from the rage coming from James, as did everyone else. The portraits on the wall were even shaking. It looked like it would be better for her to comply somewhat. She pointed aggressively at Sirius and practically hissed out, "He brought up _Andie_ in Transfiguration! Now some dumbass Ravenclaws are approaching me with questions, and I will _not_ talk about the damn blood traitor!"

Sirius scowled. "She's a metamorphamagi, and that's what we were discussing! There's no reason why I _shouldn't_ have mentioned her!"

Bella growled and sent a pink spell at Sirius, but James deflected it, rolling his eyes. "Newsflash, Bella! He's right. I'm sorry people are approaching you with questions you don't want to answer, but that's no excuse to be going off on Sirius. If _he_ hadn't mentioned her, _I_ would have."

At those words, Bella turned her fury onto James, holding her wand on him. "There was _no_ reason to bring up the blood traitor and her half-blood offspring in the first place! People can just know that two exist, and that's that! Tell them to go consult a damn book!"

James was about to retort when there was blur of white blonde hair suddenly standing in front of him. She spoke icily, "Knock it off, Bella."

Bella rolled her eyes, although her angry look dissipated a bit. "Stay out of this, Cissy."

Narcissa growled and pushed Bella's wand down and out of her face as if it were nothing more than a stick. "No. You cannot possibly be angry about something _so_ ridiculous. Andie is a metamorphamagi and will be talked about in Transfiguration for years to come. Now, stop this at once."

Bella eyed her furiously. "Fine. We _will_ talk about this later."

Everyone watched as Bella walked away towards the Slytherin common room, her fury radiating off of her in waves. James was about to thank Narcissa, but she turned around frowning at both him and Sirius. "Do _not_ thank me for that. That _wasn't_ for either of you."

Sirius walked closer to her and James, sighing. "I know, Cissa. Andie has told me that the two of you still talk regularly."

Narcissa nodded to the both of them curtly before heading down the same path Bella had taken. James and Sirius urged the crowd to get on to the Great Hall or wherever before walking back towards where Lily, Alice, and Frank were waiting. It was clear that Frank and Alice had been keeping Lily informed of what had been said. Frank looked over at James appraisingly. "I don't think there's a person other than Sirius that makes Bella as angry as you do James. Nice spellwork, by the way."

The girls nodded, but James just sighed and took Lily's hand. "It's all Sirius' fault for not backing down. I swear, the two of you are both as stubborn as Lily."

Lily pushed him gently. "Hey! You're more stubborn than I am."

James gave her a half-smile. "It depends on the day."

Sirius shrugged. "_You_ try backing down from her when she's all up in your face. Imagine if I still lived at home. My Mum was just as bad. The thought of living with that again is unbearable."

Alice sighed. "At least the problem was diffused."

James gave her a look. "For today. All I did was give her another reason to come after me."

Lily squeezed his hand, and he looked over at her. She was looking at him curiously, not exactly saying what was on her mind. However, he was pretty sure she was aware he was not joking with his last statement and there was more weight to it than he was letting on. He had never mentioned to her about his feeling slightly responsible for his parents' deaths. He watched her sigh and look away before she said, "Well, I think we should get going. James?"

He nodded and let her pull him toward the Great Hall, but stopped abruptly when Sirius made a whipping sound, causing Frank and Alice to chuckle into their hands. They were one to talk though. If anyone around here was more whipped than he was, it was Frank. He immediately let go of Lily's hand to smack Sirius upside the head. "Will you quit with that?"

When he turned back to Lily, she was looking at Sirius amusedly, but there was also something else in her eyes when they turned toward him. It looked like mischief. That made him a little nervous. "What?"

Lily was the definition of innocence. She just smiled sweetly and re-took his hand. "Oh, nothing."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – Payback

James was really wondering what was going on with Lily over the last few days. The smile the girl had on her face was beginning to scare him a little. He was well aware of just how brilliant she was so the thought of her up to some sort of mischief actually had him a little concerned for his safety. Well, he supposed he could be concerned for Sirius' safety too, considering she had never given him any sympathy. Either one of them was sure to be the prime target.

After the fight between Sirius and Bella, it became obvious she was up to something, and she wasn't exactly hiding it either. She had something going on in her room, which she often went into when he was busy. It irritated him not knowing what she was up to, but it wasn't like he could waltz into her room to see because he clearly was not worried about her well-being and really just wanted to have a heads up for her prank. James hadn't seen her talking with Christina or Lauren about it, but he thought that that was more of a strategic move on her part so no one could learn about it unless she decided to tell them, which she never would. If there was a picture under the word 'stubborn' or 'resolute' in the dictionary, it would be hers.

James sighed. He supposed if it was going to be on him, he probably deserved it, considering all of the times he had embarrassed her over the years by asking her out. Looking back now, he couldn't believe he had been such an idiot around her, but then again, it was mainly because he had always been tongue-tied and completely nervous at the time. When you feel like that, it's not that uncommon to stick your foot in your mouth or act like a moron with nothing meaningful to say.

He risked a glance over at his beautiful girlfriend, who was walking next to him holding his hand quite comfortably. Her hair was pulled back slightly so her green eyes were practically jumping out at him. He had no idea how he got lucky enough to have her change her mind about him. To him, she would always be perfect. He tried to keep his attention ahead of him as they walked to breakfast in the Great Hall, but he couldn't help but emit a second sigh over his apprehension about whatever she was planning.

Lily squeezed his hand, pulling his attention over to her. She was gazing up at him curiously with a coy smile on her face. "You're so quiet, James! Are you feeling ok?"

The sarcasm was radiating off of her. James fought to remain unfazed so as to not give her the satisfaction that she was making him nervous. He tipped an imaginary hat her way. "I have no idea what you're talking about, mi lady."

If anything, her smile widened. He was positive she was only pretending to be appeased. "If you say so."

James nodded and pushed open the doors to the Great Hall before leading her over to sit with Sirius, Remus, Peter, Lauren, and Christina. The five of them already were sitting down and eating, which meant that he and Lily had been running late again. Lily sat down excitedly. "Hello, everyone. Such a lovely day, isn't it?"

Lauren started giggling at Lily's exaggerated behavior. She had been enjoying the little show Lily had been putting on and couldn't wait for the main event. "Lily, you are something else."

Lily smiled innocently. "Just what exactly are you alluding to, Lauren?"

James sighed yet again and started grabbing some food while the girls all erupted in laughter. However, as time went on, everyone began to relax a bit. It wasn't long before normal conversation resumed and everyone was enjoying their breakfast. This was the moment Lily had been waiting for— the moment when everyone would feel like nothing could possibly happen. She took a moment to survey James, and upon seeing that he was in a deep discussion with Sirius about quidditch, she flicked her wand ever so slightly at her side, causing all of James things to fall out of his satchel onto the floor. She fought not to smirk as he scowled and leaned over to pick up his things.

As soon as he had leaned down, obstructing his vision of the table, she immediately raised her other hand to poor a clear liquid from a tiny tube into his pumpkin juice. Sirius, Remus, Peter, Christina, and Lauren were all looking at her like she was crazy, but she just put a finger to her lips, telling them to keep quiet. James scowled again as he sat back up. "I don't know how I pushed these off the seat. I think I need a new satchel."

No one really said anything so Lily filled the silence, "Well, you can do that this weekend in Hogsmeade then. I already told you I was going to visit with Shelley for most of it. You'll have plenty of time to go find a new one, unless you're out causing mayhem with Black."

James sighed. "Yeah, maybe."

Everyone sitting there, except Lily of course, watched in grim anticipation as James downed the rest of his pumpkin juice. Nothing appeared to have happened to him, but Lily was suddenly smiling triumphantly. "James, sweetheart, pass me the salt please?"

James obediently complied with her request, much to the amusement of the others, before turning his attention back to his breakfast. Lily looked fit to burst with giggles as she salted her food. Sirius was concerned with what was going on with his best mate, seeing as nothing overtly had happened to him. Lily's actions clearly indicated that the prank was successful. "James, you, ahhh, feeling ok?"

James looked up from his breakfast to gaze at Sirius oddly. The tone in Sirius' question was implying something should be wrong with him. "Yeah, why?"

Sirius shrugged, attempting to play off his worry. "No reason."

James was now looking at him warily. He also noticed the others were rather fidgety as they surveyed him. This wasn't going to be good. "What?"

That's when Lily finally succumbed to her giggles. "Nothing's _wrong_, James. You're just going to give him quite the lesson today I think…"

James looked over at her quite scared. He had definitely been pranked in the last five minutes, but he had no idea what had happened. Considering he must look completely normal, he was sure it was a potion of some kind that he had just downed with his pumpkin juice because of a well-timed collapse of his things that had left him distracted. The little minx had got him. This was _not_ going to be fun. "Ummm, what kind of lesson?"

Lily smiled evilly. "A lesson in what it REALLY means for someone to be 'whipped.'"

James looked horrified while the others all burst out laughing. When James started to protest furiously, Lily waved her hand dismissively at him. "Stop talking, James."

Everyone was absolutely astounded when James instantly fell silent, seemingly against his will. His hazel eyes were huge. The rest of the Marauders were looking at him with amused sympathy, but the girls were just laughing. Lily was watching him innocently. "What?"

But James didn't answer her. In fact, it looked like he couldn't say anything at all. Lily was watching him curiously for a moment until she realized why he couldn't answer her. She hid her huge smile behind her hand. "Oops, sorry. You can talk now, James."

This caused renewed laughter among the group. James eyed his incredibly devious girlfriend with a resigned expression. She was good; he'd give her that. "If this is a lesson for Sirius, may I ask why I'm the one being pranked here?"

Lily's eyes sparkled. "I thought you'd never ask! You see, if I pranked Sirius and he was following me around taking all of my orders, it would look a little odd, don't you think? But as my boyfriend, this works out perfectly for you. There is also this little thing called payback that I promised you so—"

Remus was curious and interrupted, "Payback for what?"

James just sighed, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "The governors' luncheon, right?"

Lily nodded, still grinning excitedly. "I told you I'd get you when you were least expecting it! This is going to be _so_ much fun."

James looked at her pitifully, as he finished up his food with another sigh. Lauren was looking over at Lily with mischievous eyes. "How long does it last?"

Lily shrugged, unconcerned. "At least twelve hours, but I'm really good with Potions though so we'll have to wait and see."

James groaned. "_Twelve_ hours?"

Lily rubbed his back gleefully. "Yup. Ready to go to class, sweetheart?"

James nodded, although he was not looking forward to what was to come. She was definitely going to make this interesting. The group all got up to leave so they could head over to Herbology. Lauren said her goodbyes and was ecstatic as she tormented James a bit about the whole thing before leaving to go to her sixth year classes. Remus frowned at the situation as the rest of them all walked together in the hallway. "Lily, what kind of potion is that anyway? I don't remember ever reading about it. It seems kind of dangerous, don't you think?"

Peter nodded and looked over at Lily somewhat fearfully. "It's almost like…" He leaned in towards all of them, mumbling the rest of his thoughts, "the Imperius Curse."

Lily frowned at Peter's assessment. "Actually, it's completely different. James is still completely aware of himself for one thing, and it may seem like I'm telling James what to do, but in actuality, he's the one letting me do it."

James guffawed, thinking that was entirely impossible. "Do continue explaining, SWEETIE."

Lily chuckled as she hugged his arm to her while she held out her satchel in her other hand, her eyes filled with mischief. "Here, hold my books, DEAR." James sighed as he felt the potion take over, and he automatically reached out to take her satchel from her, placing it on the shoulder of the arm she wasn't holding. Lily giggled at his compliance before continuing, "The potion is a trust-based serum; it will only work properly if the person doing the suggesting or ordering is someone the person who took the potion trusts implicitly. Now, if Severus had given James the potion and then ordered him to do something, James would have told him to stuff it and the potion would be ineffective. But because it was me, when I ordered him to pass me the salt, he activated the potion by complying. Isn't he sweet?"

James snorted, although he wasn't necessarily mad about the whole thing. "So because I don't mind doing nice things for you, I got suckered into activating the potion?"

Lily's green eyes sparkled up at him. "Yup."

He smiled down at her. "You're evil, but I like it."

They eventually made their way into Herbology. Lily was just about to walk away to go sit with Christina like usual when she turned to James mischievously. "Do pay attention today, James. You never were all that good at Herbology."

James' face paled at what she had just done. He could now feel a force pulling him to listen to the professor and the class hadn't even started yet. If she did this for every class, it was going to be the longest day _ever_. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all stifling their snickers. Lily kissed him on his cheek before walking away with Christina with a huge grin on her face.

Sirius turned to him, a wry grin crossing his features. "You got yourself a handful with that one, James."

James sighed, pulling out his notes. He glanced back at his beautiful girlfriend, who was smiling and looking quite pleased with herself over near the front of the greenhouse. He turned his attention back to Sirius with a sigh. "Perhaps, but I like the challenge."

The rest of the day wasn't as bad as James had thought it was going to be— he knew Lily could've made the whole thing a lot worse than she did. So he carried her books for her everywhere, met up with her where and whenever she told him to, opened doors for her, was forced to pay attention in their classes (earning weird looks from the professors who had never seen him raise his hand volunteering an answer before), and did a few odd things she asked him to do just because she could— like running back to the Heads' common room for something she didn't really need, etc. Besides the exaggerations like paying attention in class or carrying her books, it wasn't all that different from the things he normally did for her anyway.

They were just making it back from patrol that night, and much to Lily's surprise, the potion was still working. She felt kinda bad. "It wasn't supposed to work this long, honest."

James shrugged and waved a hand out in front of him. "It's not a big deal, Lily. Really— I don't mind."

Lily smiled over at him while he absentmindedly looked over the armor they were passing in the sixth floor corridor. He was so adorable. Besides being a little frustrated about the whole thing that morning, he actually took the situation rather well. There were even times where she saw that he didn't even mind doing some of the things she asked of him. She knew that if the guys had been the ones controlling the prank, James would have been outside in the cold, in nothing but his boxers, singing at the top of his lungs about his undying devotion to her or something. She had kept it pretty tame, especially since it sort of had a side purpose— for Sirius to learn nice things to do for girls. "So did Sirius get anything out of the whole thing?"

James chuckled. "I'm not sure. He did say he'd never let a woman get the best of him like you got the best of me. However, just between the two of us, I want you to give that potion to his first serious girlfriend. He deserves it, and it might help him learn how to treat a lady better if he had the firsthand experience."

She laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

She watched as James hit the wall in the three specific places before gesturing that she go through first. She stopped in front of the gargoyle curiously. "Do you want to change the password? I think a lot of people know what it is by now."

James ran his hands over her arms from behind her. "If you want to. What should we change it to?"

Lily looked over her shoulder at him and grinned wickedly. "How about 'Black still needs lady lessons?'"

James laughed. "Works for me."

The gargoyle let them inside after they adjusted the password and who could enter. Lily looked over to him as she plopped down on the couch. "Do you have any homework to do?"

He shook his head as he stretched a bit in front of her. "No, I'm finally caught up. I never thought this day would come actually."

Lily couldn't help but stare at him. He was incredibly handsome already, but then he just had to go and stretch out his strong arms and make her want to touch him. She smiled flirtatiously at him. "Come here then."

James glanced down at her and was not disappointed to see her looking at him in a way that made his blood boil. This was one command he had no problem following. He sat down next to her and was quite happy when she leaned over to cover his lips with hers. He didn't hesitate to unsnap her school robe and then wrap his arms around her back to pull her onto his lap. He felt her hands slide up his shoulders, loosening his tie and unsnapping his school robe as well. He deepened the kiss with his tongue, and upon hearing her emit a quiet moan, he threaded one of his hands into her hair angling her head just so for best access to her mouth.

Lily felt his other hand wander over her back, ultimately un-tucking her blouse so he could run his fingers across her bare skin. She began to unbutton his shirt, meeting his searing kisses with equal fervor. When her fingers ran down his taut chest and stomach muscles, he groaned into her mouth. She felt his hands slide down to her hips, lifting her just off of his lap so he could lower her down on the couch. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with his messy dark hair, as he settled his weight on top of her, kissing her all the while. She found his weight comforting and arousing at the same time.

James was completely turned on at the moment. Not only was Lily wearing one of her school skirts, she was wearing one that seemed to be a little shorter than usual. He was beyond thrilled that she didn't care that he was lying on top of her while she was in a skirt, kissing her like he couldn't get enough of her. He slid his hands up from her hips and after he had pushed her blouse up a bit with his hands, he let his fingers run over the bare skin of her flat stomach. She was killing him here. Her pale skin was incredibly soft, she smelled like heaven, and her hands were running over his bare skin driving him absolutely mental.

Lily was completely lost in the moment; she had never wanted to keep touching him (not to mention, keep him touching her like he was) before. It was only when she felt one of his hands slide down the bare skin of her outer thigh, his fingers grazing over her knickers, did she see how far their snogging had gone. She pulled back slightly. "James…"

James groaned inwardly. He didn't want to stop quite yet. He wouldn't do anything she wasn't ready for, but kissing her like this was unbelievable and highly enjoyable. He immediately decided to try something else, something that might make her feel more comfortable. And with that, he grabbed her hips tightly and rotated the two of them so she was now on top of him. This way, she would feel like she could stop at any time. She was now straddling him and looking down at him curiously, her hair all tousled, her lips abused, and her green eyes darkened from their intense snogging. He never thought she looked more beautiful. He gently tugged on the bottom of her blouse, indicating he would prefer that she continue to snog the hell out of him than to stop. It didn't take her long to decide.

Lily leaned down and recommenced kissing him, interested in this new set up. She felt one of his hands thread into her hair, pulling some of it back and allowing him to kiss her thoroughly. She ran her fingertips gently over his collarbone, one of her hands slipping around to play with the hair at the nape of his neck.

James had changed his mind. From now on, Lily could be on top whenever she wanted to. Not only was her body pressed up against his in a way that made his hard on even harder, he also had way more access to touch any part of her body that he wanted to. He ran his free hand over the front of her beautiful little body, running his fingers over her breasts, her stomach, her hips and her bum. He could hear these little sighs coming from her that were driving him crazy.

She suddenly pulled back from him, pulling on his tie, which still happened to be around his neck. He immediately sat up with her still straddling him, wrapping his arms firmly around her. He leaned down just slightly to capture her lips in yet another passionate kiss that just went on and on and on. He eventually let his hands slide down to her hips, holding her body tightly against his. Her arms, which were securely wrapped around his neck, loosened slightly, and she eventually broke the kiss, leaving her breathing rather hard into his neck. "Ummm, wow."

He was breathing rather heavily too. He whispered into her ear, "I don't think wow even covers it, sweetheart."

She giggled before looking into his hazel eyes with a cheeky grin on her face. "Your hair's all messy, Mr. Potter."

James grinned wickedly, sliding one of his hands under her blouse so he could touch the bare skin of her lower back. "Yours is too, Ms. Evans, although I must say, you still look undeniably beautiful."

She blushed a bit and gave him a playful glare. "Is that so?"

He nodded, still grinning. He tightened his arms around her, leaning down to kiss her neck slowly. "Very much so."

Lily shivered at the contact. "I highly enjoyed that."

James chuckled into her neck— a low and throaty, very sexy chuckle that left Lily as nothing more than putty in his hands. "You have no idea how much I enjoyed that."

Lily laughed softly. She felt his arms loosen around her some so she looked back over at him. "What is it?"

He looked into her curious green eyes. He could get lost in them forever. "I forgot to ask you. Would you like to go to the Valentine's Day dance with me?"

Lily chuckled at him amusedly. "I thought I already was?"

James now looked confused. "I thought I was still supposed to ask. Don't girls like to be asked?"

Lily ran one of her hands across his cheek, smiling contently. "You can ask me if you'd like, I guess. And yes, I'd love to go with you, James."

James smiled at her. "Good because no one else can go with someone as beautiful and wonderful as you."

She laughed, and her eyes were twinkling. "Possessive much?"

James shrugged with a smirk. "I'm the one that's whipped, remember? I think that entitles possessiveness."

Lily gazed at him, humor evident in her eyes. "Well, I suppose it's an even trade."

She saw his mouth twitch into a small smile, but she ultimately stopped thinking about anything when his lips found hers again. She agreed wholeheartedly with his choice of activity.

Hogsmeade soon came and went. James had waited with her in front of the Three Broomsticks for Shelley to arrive, insisting that she could not possibly wait by herself. Once Shelley made it there, he made a joke about heading off to Diagon Alley for the day before apparating away silently, leaving them wondering where it was he actually went off to. Lily had immensely enjoyed spending time with Shelley again. She hadn't realized just how much she missed sitting around chatting with the girl until she had gotten to do it again. They talked about any and everything from James to her healing classes, to her apprenticeship starting in June to where Lily was planning on applying, to shopping, etc. The only thing that had troubled her slightly was when Shelley had curiously pointed out that Severus Snape had been staring at her while the two of them had lunch together in the Three Broomsticks that afternoon. Lily had no idea why he would be, but she knew she would never mention it to James. He would definitely go into protective mode. All in all, it had been quite the day.

The next week had been a quidditch frenzy. Everyone was going insane about the upcoming Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw match that weekend. James had mentioned to Lily that this would be their most difficult match because Ravenclaw actually had a decent team that year. He said it would really come down to the seeker. Needless to say, James had been instigating quidditch practice whenever he could. The two of them ended up sleeping out on the couch together a few times because that was some of the only time the two of them had together. She didn't really mind though. Waking up next to him was really nice.

Now, it was Friday morning, the day before the match. The Gryffindor table was loud and enthusiastic, chatting animatedly about the match the next morning. Lily wasn't sure how much learning would be going on today during classes. James and Sirius were discussing the upcoming game for the umpteenth time; they had spent all of breakfast discussing this, and now it was almost time to start heading to class. Lily was incredibly glad that there was only a final practice that night and then the match tomorrow. Maybe then things would calm down. She was just about to interrupt them to talk about ANYTHING else for five minutes, when she heard a loud thump, followed by an alarmed shout, "Hailey!"

The Great Hall quieted down at the shout, mumbling over what had happened. James had instantly got to his feet, Sirius and Lily following in his wake. There were only two professors still at the professors' table, and they also began heading over. Two fourth year Gryffindors were leaning over an unconscious Hailey Baker, who had somehow fallen out of her seat to the floor. James immediately leaned down surveying her stats. He checked her pulse and her breathing, as well as conducted a few diagnostic spells, before turning to the other two girls. "What did she eat? Drink?"

One of them shook her head, her blonde curls swishing back and forth, concern for her friend evident on her face. "Just breakfast. Eggs and pumpkin juice."

James sighed. "It had to be a potion of some kind. Don't eat or drink anything else from that area. I'm going to take her to the infirmary. Lily, can you let the professors know?"

Lily nodded and watched as he scooped up the unconscious girl in his arms taking her out of the Great Hall, a grim expression on his face. She was surprised he hadn't even thought to use magic to transport her, but he was always sweet like that. She turned back to see Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra heading their way, but what she was really concentrating on was the fact that Sirius was grimly appraising the Slytherin table, who were all looking rather smug. That's when Lily realized the Slytherins had just got their revenge for the Wizard of Oz prank. Hailey Baker would not be seeking tomorrow. Lily had no idea what James was going to do about that.

She explained the situation to the professors before she went back to where she had been sitting. The guys were all looking rather disheartened over the incident as they grabbed their things, ready to go to class.

James arrived late to Potions, handing Professor Slughorn a note most likely from Madam Pomfrey. As soon as he sat down at their table, they all looked to him for an explanation. He just sighed, looking sad. "She's out for tomorrow. It was a potion to induce unconsciousness; it isn't often used and has some dark magic connotations to it. Madam Pomfrey thinks she'll wake up by tomorrow afternoon, but she'll be incredibly disoriented until the beginning of next week."

Sirius groaned. "I knew it. What are we going to do about tomorrow?"

James frowned slightly, looking like he didn't want to talk about it. "I have an idea."

Sirius waited for him to continue, but when he didn't, he looked at James in exasperation, "And?"

James sighed. "I'm going to have to play seeker, you know that. Let me work out the rest of the kinks. I'll let you know when I'm good and ready to."

Sirius grumbled about him keeping him in the dark, but turned back to his potion. Lily looked over at James concerned. "You're going to have to play seeker? I don't remember you ever playing that…"

James looked over at her amusedly, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I had to play seeker one match in fifth year. I've always been pretty good at it; I just like being chaser better. I suppose you hated me then so it's ok that you don't remember."

She nudged him playfully. "Did you catch the snitch?"

He laughed. "Of course."

And with that, they got back to work. James disappeared whenever they were not in class. None of them had any idea where he went. It wasn't until just before dinner in the Gryffindor common room when information regarding his disappearances started to unravel. A lot of Gryffindors were all hanging about chatting despondently about the match the next morning. Sirius, Remus, Peter, Christina, and Lily had all just got there to relax before dinner together, sulking similarly, when an exasperated Lauren flew through the portrait hole with James following hastily behind her. He cleared his throat loudly, "Everyone, can I have your attention please?"

Lauren stopped in her tracks, rounding on him horrified. "Don't you dare!"

Sirius began chuckling, and Lily watched him confused. Apparently, he knew what was going on. James just ignored Lauren, looking at everyone else with a coy smile on his face. "As all of you know, Hailey can't play seeker tomorrow so that means I'm going to have to. This means I need someone for the chaser position. No offense to anyone in this tower, but the people I have seen try out previously for the position and have not made the team just aren't good enough to step up to play in tomorrow's match after only a single practice tonight. The only person I know who has a fighting chance of doing so is Miss Lauren Shelton. I know she's never tried out for the team, but I've seen her play. So I would like everyone here to help me plead for her to consider playing in tomorrow's match so we can have a fighting chance at winning." And with that, he dropped to his knees with the most pathetic puppy-eyed expression on his face as he gazed up at a highly embarrassed Lauren. "Please, Lauren?"

Everyone in the room began giggling at the public pleading of James Potter. The Marauders were full out laughing, hooting and hollering at her. If anything, Lily thought Lauren turned even more red in the face than she already was. She waved her hands around her in frustration. "Oh, for Merlin's sake, James! Fine!"

James hopped up and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, smiling triumphantly. "GREAT! Meet you out on the pitch after dinner."

It seemed like everything in the room had stilted when James had kissed Lauren on the cheek. Apparently, less people knew the two of them were related than he must have thought. Lauren immediately ran up to her room to get away from everyone's prying eyes, but James wasn't even a bit embarrassed by his actions and hadn't even noticed the other Gryffindors' reactions. However, Lily had noticed. She was amused when he just plopped down beside her as if nothing had happened. Technically, nothing did, but Lily, Christina, and the Marauders were the only ones who knew that. Lily thought it was rather amusing that everyone else was expecting her to blow up at him for kissing another woman. She caught Sirius' eye with a smile. He had definitely noticed the problem since he was grinning at the two of them evilly. Lily just sighed and turned to James, ignoring everyone else. "So why didn't you tell us about your plan with Lauren? We could've helped, you know."

James shrugged, although he was smiling. "Lauren doesn't really like it when a whole host of people bother her. I tried all day to talk with her about it privately, and she refused multiple times. I knew finally that embarrassing her was the only way to make it happen."

They all rolled their eyes at James' assessment. Remus sighed, although he was amused. "You know, she probably would have said yes without all of your theatrics."

James laughed. "Well, this way was faster."

The next morning was another case of bad luck. It was almost as if someone was trying to make things more difficult for all parties considered. It was sleeting outside— badly. There was no thunder or lightening, yet the weather of February 1st was hovering just above freezing so it wasn't quite snow, but it also wasn't rain. Lauren looked over to James pathetically as she stood in the alcove ready to fly out onto the pitch with everyone, wearing Hailey's robes that had been given a stretching jinx so they fit her properly. "I hate you right now, James."

He smiled at her, and just said one word. "Florida."

She sighed wistfully. "Ok, so I don't exactly _hate_ you, but…"

Sirius smirked at the two of them. "Shut it already. I already promised you that I would do my best to make sure that no one picks you off, Lovely Lauren."

Celia giggled. "You did fine last night at practice. Don't worry about it. The sleet will make the Ravenclaws worse off too."

Lauren nodded glumly, although she was still a little nervous. She didn't mind playing with the guys every once in a while, but full out quidditch was bound to be rough. Not to mention, she was the new player. They would all be gunning for her, thinking she was going to be easy to get rid of. She heard James mutter, "Impervious" against his glasses before leading all of them out onto the pitch when they were beckoned out. It was freezing, and flying quickly through sleet made it hit them with extra force. This was going to be hell for all of them.

Hufflepuff Anthony Abbot was sitting up near the professors so he could announce. "Here they are everyone! The Gryffindor quidditch team: Chasers Murray, Hoyt, and Shelton, a surprising fill in for today's match; Beaters Black and Douglas; Keeper Owens; and Seeker James Potter!"

The Gryffindor side erupted in cheers. Everyone's attention soon turned to see the Ravenclaw team shoot out of their area, waiting to be recognized. Abbot continued, "And there's the Ravenclaw team: Chasers Patil, Wittier, and Boot; Beaters McKinley and Larkin; Keeper Turpin; and Seeker Mark Reynolds!"

The Ravenclaws cheered loudly, and oddly enough, so did the Slytherins. Lily frowned. She supposed if they knew they weren't going to get the Quidditch Cup, they were going to root for someone other than Gryffindor. She tried to listen to Abbot's commentary as the match finally got underway. "And the quaffle is released, stolen immediately by Hoyt, who passes to Murray, Murray flies down the pitch, passes to Hoyt, Murray, Shelton, Murray, Shelton attempts and….SCORE! 10-0 Gryffindor!"

Lily clapped loudly for Lauren. The girl must really be pretty good. She glanced up at the sky to see James circling the pitch looking around in deep concentration. She had no idea how he could see anything in this mess, let alone the tiny snitch. The game continued with lots of fouls, dropped quaffles because of slippery hands, and blocked attempts at the goals. It was going to be a low scoring match. The Ravenclaw team called a time-out, and all parties went down to the ground on the pitch. Lily saw James talking with the team animatedly before they all flew back up in the air. James flew up higher than anyone else. Abbot tried to get everyone back in the game. "Alright everyone! The quaffle is back in play, Patil has it, he passes to Boot, who…ohhhhh, he dropped it. It's picked up by Shelton, who passes to Hoyt, Murray, Shelton, Hoyt scores! 60-40 Gryffindor!"

The game went on and on with no sign of the snitch. Lily thought James had to be freezing up there. He was way, way, way high above the pitch, searching the sky and the pitch below. He had stopped moving around so much. The Ravenclaw seeker was lower than James, but he was still circling a bit. Lily turned her attention back to the pitch when Abbot suddenly yelled out, "OUCH! Bludger to Shelton from Larkin. Wait, does Potter see the snitch?"

Suddenly, there was a frenzy on the pitch. The chasers and beaters all seemed to move more quickly than before, probably to get out of the way as the quaffle was seemingly forgotten. Lily watched as James dived, heading extremely fast towards Lauren who, after being blasted in the collarbone, had fallen off of her broom from the force of the hit. He caught her after she fell about ten feet, but he continued rapidly down toward the bottom of the Ravenclaw goal area. Reynolds immediately started diving too, but it was too late. James pulled up out of his dive, hanging onto Lauren awkwardly and also holding something gold and glittery. Abbot was speechless. "Wow! James Potter catches Shelton AND the snitch! 150 points to Potter! Gryffindor wins 220-110!"

The Gryffindor side erupted in cheers amid the Ravenclaw and Slytherin groans. Lily immediately started heading down to the alcove set up for the Gryffindor team with the other Marauders and Christina in tow.

James pulled his broom over to their alcove where they could get out of the sleet. He looked over at Lauren, who had suddenly become aware of how precarious her situation had just been, falling off of her broom and then riding double with James at incredibly fast speeds after she had landed all funny in his arms. It was also sleeting and rather slippery. His eyes were filled with amusement as he looked over her still surprised features. "Now do you like me again, sis?"

She looked up at him pathetically, with her face all scrunched up in pain. "Maybe after I fix my collarbone and your broom is no longer permanently embedded in my ribcage. Always got to be the hero, don't you?"

He chuckled and helped her get up and over to a chair as Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall came running in after them. Madam Pomfrey immediately went over to Lauren while Professor McGonagall came over to him shaking her head. "I can't believe you just did that. You're completely reckless, and yet, somehow things work out. Take 10 points for Gryffindor for sheer dumb luck."

James smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Professor. I couldn't let her fall."

The rest of the team flew into the alcove, getting out of the horrible weather. Sirius ran up to him concerned, holding Lauren's broom in his other hand. "Is she ok? I saw that bludger coming her way, but Mike and I were too far away. Nice catch by the way."

James just laughed. "Which one?"

Celia, Jake, and Mike started laughing, but Dan had run over to Lauren to see if she was alright. She shoved him away in exasperation. She hated all this attention. "I'm fine! It's just broken!"

Dan looked sad by her pushing him away. James immediately came up to the two of them, watching Lauren grumble pointedly. "Lauren, be nice. We're concerned about you."

She sighed, looking up at him crossly. "I'd be _fine_ if I was sitting up in the stands with Remus, Peter, Christina, and Lily, thank you very much. I may like you again, but I'm still mad at you."

He laughed. "Florida!"

She growled at him while everyone else looked at him bewildered about why he kept saying that to her. Sirius chuckled. "Let's go, Prongs. We'll come see her in the infirmary after she's medicated. That's when she'll be nice to us."

Lauren suddenly chucked one of her shoes at his head before shouting at him from behind Madam Pomfrey, who looked to be holding her back. "I heard that, Black!"

The shoe went flying out onto the pitch when Sirius ducked. James chuckled quietly to himself as he silently summoned the shoe back while everyone was looking at Lauren rather startled; he didn't think any of them had ever seen Lauren act like she did when she was at home before. When Sirius righted himself, he looked at everyone with his notorious mischievous grin. He obviously was unconcerned by Lauren's behavior. "Party in the Gryffindor common room, everyone?"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – The 'L' Word

Lily frowned as she sat in the second prefects' meeting that week. She was exasperated with the way things were going. It seemed as if every time an idea was brought up or an assignment was made, someone had something to say over it for an exorbitant amount of time. Needless to say, her interest was waning. She was technically leading the discussion and the meeting so this was definitely a bad thing for her to be doing. James was with her, of course, but he was being nothing more than the diligent helper, magically writing everything that was important on the empty wall space behind her. He liked to let her run the meetings.

Personally, she thought that was silly of him. He was ten times better at controlling this monstrosity of a group than she was. The group all listened to her for the most part, sure, but if James had something to contribute, they all looked to him with rapt attention. She knew why. It was because he had this amazingly powerful presence that you couldn't help but be captivated by. If she ever mentioned this to him, he'd say that she had no idea what she was talking about or blush horribly at the idea that he had anything of the sort. But it didn't change the fact that he did. Looking back over the years, even when she couldn't stand him, she had always thought that about him. She supposed that was why he had irritated her so much to begin with— she couldn't keep her attention off of him no matter how much she had wanted to.

Like now for instance. Beatrice Delmont, seventh year Slytherin replacement prefect for Bellatrix, was being such a snobby bitch. She was now listing off as many reasons as possible for why the Slytherins should not have to be subjected to something as trivial as helping with decorations, particularly because she was a female. She had her button nose stuck up in the air, her dark brown hair was perfectly straight and primped, there wasn't a wrinkle in her clothing, and she was looking at her fingernails as if she had more important places to be. If that was the case, Lily thought it would be more prudent for her to shut up so they could all leave. Anyway, the point to all of that was that Lily was no longer paying attention to Ms. Delmont and her little rant because her attention had been quite unintentionally summoned to her handsome, sexy boyfriend with the powerful presence sitting on her right. He was much better to look at and think about anyway. She wasn't staring at him yet; at least, she hoped she wasn't. He looked equally frustrated at how things were going so she hoped he would say something soon. Maybe then people would shut up and move on. Then the two of them could go snog somewhere and get some homework done before their patrol.

Was it her or were there suddenly a bunch of people looking expectantly at her? She totally must've been blanking. She glanced over at James quickly to get her bearings, only to find him looking at her too with an amused smile. "Lily, you were going to summarize after all that?"

Lily jumped in her seat, quite obviously distracted as she fumbled through the parchment in front of her. Damn him for being handsome. Damn Remus too for laughing at her all the way in the back of the room. "Uhh, right. Ok, so here's what we have as a final rundown. All of the fifth year prefects are going to help the band when they arrive at 4pm on the day of the dance; Professor McGonagall is going to be there for that as well so all of you will meet with her during that time. The sixth and seventh year Hufflepuff prefects are going to be working with Professor Sprout with the menus for the dinner portion of the dance and helping to organize food options within the dormitories for the third years and below that evening. The sixth and seventh year prefects from the remaining houses are going to be helping with decorations starting at 3pm on the day of the dance in the Great Hall. Professor Flitwick mentioned to me that he'd be willing to help with that. Everything else should be taken care of."

James smiled quietly to himself. It was obvious the girl had muted out the entire last ten minutes of talking and drifted off into space, which wasn't surprising, considering how distracted she had looked when he had just spoken to her. She was cute when she was all flustered. He secretly wondered what she had been thinking about because listening to Beatrice had been quite an earful, something he would have liked to forget. He continued her incomplete train of thought with a sigh, "And all of the girls will be allowed to leave at 5pm so they can get ready for the dance because for some odd reason, it takes girls at least two and a half hours to get ready, according to Beatrice's long-winded whine. And no, Beatrice, we are not going to revisit the idea of whether muggle dress clothes should be allowed. It was already voted on previously. You can still wear either muggle dress clothes or dress robes."

Lily's startled look told him she had indeed not heard any of that. Beatrice was now pouting and rolling her eyes. James just smirked back at Lily amusedly. "Anything else then?"

Lily shook her head at his question before addressing everyone, "No, come see either of us if you have any questions about anything. We'll make sure to remind you all next week about the times you're supposed to be helping."

And with that, everyone started to disperse. The Slytherins all rushed out of the room with their snooty faces in the air, with only Severus lingering briefly to glance back toward where she and James were sitting with a look of loathing on his face. The rest of the house prefects were all talking animatedly and excitedly with one another as they departed. Lily saw Remus talking awkwardly with Sophie Lawrence, the pretty sixth year Ravenclaw prefect. She waited until Sophie left to bring up what she was thinking, considering she had seen him talking with her a lot over the past week. "Remus, are you going to pull your head out of your butt and ask her to the dance already? You've been drooling behind her for like a week now."

James started laughing at how upfront she was being; he supposed Remus blushing furiously was also a factor. "Sirius and I asked you about that earlier this week, and you didn't blush like that for us!"

Remus growled at them both, although it didn't help his blushing problem. Lily saw his eyes flash, and for the first time, she saw the hint of the beast within him, like a show of quiet and ferocious strength. "Shut it, Prongs. If you mention this to Padfoot, I'll kill you."

This only made James laugh harder. Lily just smiled knowingly. "Why don't you ask Lauren to help you out? She and Tasha are in the same year as Sophie. She can feel her out for you."

Remus scowled at her, but it didn't even seem to faze her. She was still smiling, as sweet as ever. How she ever ended up with someone as crazy as James he didn't know, but they somehow fit like no two people he had seen before— right now being a prime example. "You're so evil."

Lily laughed. "Great! Now you, Sirius, and James know that about me!"

James grabbed Lily's hand to lead her out into the corridors, still snickering. "I don't see why it bothers you so much, Moony. Just ask the girl. Forget about what you are so concerned about for just one night. You deserve to have a good night out."

Remus nodded with a sigh. "Maybe I will then."

He eventually left the two of them to start his prefect shift that night with one of the Hufflepuff prefects, leaving James and Lily to themselves. The two of them did piles of homework and practical work in their common room before heading out to do their nightly patrol. The halls weren't as busy as the last week had been, which was due to all of the quidditch madness, but there was still always something for them to do the whole time.

James, in particular, was tired. He hadn't exactly been getting enough sleep over the last month, and it was finally starting to catch up to him. There had been those detentions, then it was prefect and dance issues, and then it had been quidditch. There was also the onslaught of homework that just wouldn't quit because they were NEWT students. After their nightly patrols each night, he was starting to really feel the exhaustion. He was definitely running on empty. It was pretty much a guarantee that he was going to be taking things easy for the next few weeks.

Lily looked over at him amused as he plopped onto the couch, leaving her with hardly any room to join him. She reached out and tugged on his arm gently so he would get back up. "Come on, sleepyhead. I told you a long time ago that you should get more sleep."

He sighed as he let her pull him back to his feet. "You should just leave me here. Then, you can sleep out here too."

Lily giggled. "I think I'll sleep in an actual bed tonight."

He shrugged absently as he let her pull him toward his dorm room door as he yawned. "You should just come and sleep with me in my bed."

Lily stopped suddenly and turned around to look at him curiously. That was when James realized what he had just said in his sleepy state. His eyes widened, and he quickly tried to backtrack so she wouldn't get the wrong idea and get upset, but his tired mind couldn't seem to quite keep up with his words, "I mean…I meant sleep in the 'sleep' sense of the word. Not the other way. I mean, I would like to do that too— well, one day…It should be obvious I find you attractive, right? But I would never pressure you into doing something you weren't ready for, and I was just thinking that we've been sleeping next to each other a lot out here which doesn't seem to be an issue, and I really like doing that, and I know…"

Lily wasn't really listening to what he was babbling on about when she had turned around to look back at him. He was being quite adorable in his tired state. His voice kept getting faster as he tried to articulate what he was thinking in a way that wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable; not to mention he was looking at anything but her with a slight tinge of pink rising up from the back of his neck. She bit her lip to keep from smiling at how sweet he was being. It's not like it was something she hadn't already thought about before, considering they had spent a number of nights out on the couch in their common room. In fact, she didn't really mind sleeping in his room at all. She gently grabbed James' nervous hands that were gesturing all around him, essentially quieting him. He still couldn't quite look at her so she pulled his face around so she could look him in the eyes. "James, that's not a bad idea. I'm not mad. I still have a few things to do though so I'll just come in and join you in a bit, ok? You go on and get some sleep."

Lily continued walking over to her room, leaving James staring after her with a rather blank, startled look to his features. She closed her door with a smile. It was one of those girly smiles that she tried to keep to herself. He was so sweet and such a gentleman. She thought it was odd that she found those traits rather sexy about him. How she lucked out, she'd never know.

She got her stuff together for the next day, checked over a couple of potions she had been brewing in her room (which were about done), and changed into a pair of pajama shorts and a camisole. She headed over toward James' room and entered it quietly. He had left the lights on, but he was most certainly already sleeping in his bed, lying on his stomach with one of his arms under his pillow. He had changed into pajama pants and an old quidditch t-shirt, one with his last name scrawled across the back. She thought it was odd he had even bothered with a shirt, especially considering the number of times she'd seen him without one. She liked seeing him without one— a lot. She felt like such a hussy for thinking so dirtily about him, but the boy was hot. She vaguely wondered if she was ready to do more than just snog the boy senseless. She cared so much about him, it was crazy. He was the only one she wanted to be with. She made her way over to his bed, saying quietly, "Nox."

She crawled under his dark blue comforter as quietly as possible before sliding over towards him. She was lying on her side and her stomach as she watched him sleep. She could watch him like this anytime. He was laying half on top of his comforter and half not so she fixed that. She hadn't made a move to actually touch him, and yet his breath hitched in a way that let her know he knew she was there. His one arm reached out to pull her close to him and he rolled over onto his back, ultimately allowing her to be resting on his chest like she had been the time he had slept in her bed. She felt him kiss her forehead and run his arm down her back in a way that made her feel incredibly special. But nothing prepared her for when he mumbled out, "Goodnight, Lils, I love you."

Lily froze on his chest. His breathing hadn't changed so he was definitely still very much asleep. Did he really just say what she thought he just said? It was so out of the blue, and yet, completely welcoming at the same time. She couldn't stop the huge smile from creeping across her face. He loved her.

She remembered her Mum once telling her a long time ago that whenever someone was asleep, they oftentimes would unleash hidden truths or say things that were weighing on their mind. Lily found out about this firsthand of course; that's how she and Petunia had gotten her Mum and Dad to say yes to certain things as kids— by talking with them in their sleep.

She didn't even hesitate. There were no doubts in her mind; if there was one person out there for her, she had already found him. "I love you too, James."

Lily felt him rub the sliver of exposed skin on her lower back gently in response. If every moment could be as great as this one, she would be happy forever. Now, if only she could get him to say it when he was awake…

James woke up grumbling. Damn that stupid ass personal alarm charm crap that was beyond annoying to him and was screwing up his sleep. He moved his arm to reach for his wand, only to hear a feminine sigh when he shifted. James froze. He opened his eyes to see a slightly blurry blob of red hair on his chest. Lily was still sleeping, and she was lying on him. He suddenly couldn't stop smiling. He remembered her saying she was going to come into his room to sleep, but he didn't remember her actually arriving. Well, he wasn't disappointed. He gently ran his fingers through her silky red hair until the reason for him waking up in the first place started grating on his nerves again.

He reached out the arm that wasn't wrapped around her toward his nightstand/desk or whatever the hell it was to grab his wand, only to find he couldn't reach it without moving and probably waking Lily. This was hell. He kept reaching in frustration until he let out an annoyed sigh while hitting his bed with his hand. His wand suddenly flew from his desk into his hand. He waved it quickly, finally silencing the dull roar that continued to echo inside his head. That's when he heard Lily's cute laugh. "Did you just use wandless magic, James?"

He groaned. He hadn't meant to wake her. He wanted to go back to sleep, seeing as he was quite cozy with his very beautiful girlfriend at the moment. "Yes."

Lily was surprised. "I didn't know you can do that."

James just mumbled, "Mmmhmm."

Lily ran her fingers down his chest gently, biting her lip to keep from smiling, seeing as he was obviously trying not to get up. He was not a morning person she knew, but she was. She didn't care though; she thought it was rather cute about him. "Alarm charm got you down? Shouldn't you be getting up now?"

He grumbled and suddenly flipped her over so she was lying on her back. He ignored her slight yelp of surprise as he laid down next to her burying his face in her neck with his arm thrown casually over her stomach. "Go back to sleep."

She chuckled at him, letting the hand of her free arm, the one he wasn't lying on, move gently over the arm now draped over her stomach. "But your alarm went off."

He sighed. She wasn't going to be quiet; he just knew it. He supposed he didn't really mind. "I always set two."

Lily was curious. "You mean, like a muggle snooze button?"

James groaned in frustration. "Where's your snooze button?"

She laughed. "You're mean."

He tightened his hold on her. "No, I'm not."

Lily sighed. She could get used to him holding her like this in the morning. "Do you remember me coming in here last night?"

He was curious about her sudden topic change. "No. Why? Did I do something?"

Lily wasn't sure how to bring it up. She was pretty sure it was true, but she really wanted him to say it when he was conscious for her to believe it fully. "Well, I don't know. You told me you loved me for one thing…"

James tensed slightly at her words. He knew it was true, but he hadn't planned on telling her that yet. He'd been telling her he loved her for years, but when he had started thinking that he finally knew and understood the woman he had been infatuated with for most of his life and that he really loved her, like really loved her, he hadn't known how to articulate it like he had before. Apparently, he had done it without even knowing about it. On the upside, she didn't seem upset, and was, in fact, teasing him about it. That could only be a good thing so he let himself relax against her with a sigh. "Well, it's not like it isn't true."

Her heart skipped a few beats. He just admitted it. She knew she was probably smiling like an idiot so she was quite happy he wasn't looking at her. "Good because I said it back."

James' eyes popped open. She loved him? If this was true, it was bound to be the happiest day ever. "Really?"

Lily bit her lip to keep from smiling. He sounded so adorable right now. "Mmmhmm."

This he had to hear for himself. He shifted a bit, pulling her even closer to him, letting his fingers run over the bare skin of her flat stomach because her camisole had run up a bit while she had slept. He slowly kissed up her neck before leaning to whisper in her ear, "I love you."

Lily's heart was beating incredibly quickly. That had to be one of the sexiest things he'd ever done to her. She turned slightly and found herself looking into James' hazel eyes. "I love you too."

He smiled slightly before leaning over to kiss her. Lily was just about to pull him closer to kiss him more thoroughly when he pulled back suddenly, completely frustrated. She was just about to question his sanity until he reached for his wand, waving it in an annoyed fashion. He laid back down next to her with a long, exasperated sigh. Lily started giggling at him. "Guess it's time to really get up, hmm?"

He rolled his head over on his pillow to look back over at her still lying where he had left her, as gorgeous as ever, twirling her hair absently with an amused smile on her face. "Unfortunately."

He was staring at her. She liked it more than she should at the moment; it was making her want him badly. However, she had to get up, and they had to get to class. Maybe they'd have some time together later. She leaned forward, kissing him quickly on his lips. "See you in a bit then."

James watched Lily get up and leave. Seeing her cute little body saunter out of his room in a pair of short shorts and a camisole was not going to leave his thoughts anytime soon. Not to mention, she was in love with him. Lily Evans loved him— James Potter. His day was already perfect.

The two of them walked into breakfast together, and almost immediately, James noticed Sirius looking at the two of them oddly. He knew that if anyone was going to notice, it would have been him. While Sirius may have his moments with being impulsive or temperamental, one of his good points tended to be his innate perception about certain things, particularly changes in mood. James gently shook his head at him, indicating he'd tell him later. He didn't need Sirius embarrassing the living daylights out of the two of them. It wasn't his fault that after saying 'I love you' to each other, they both tended to look a bit happier than usual— or a lot happier than usual. Lily, at least, hadn't noticed Sirius and had turned her attention to Remus. "So, did you ask her yet?"

Everyone immediately turned to Remus, who began blushing slightly. "Yes. Geez, you're worse than the guys."

Lily laughed. "Oh, shut up. She said yes, am I right?"

Remus just nodded while Sirius looked on at the both of them curiously. "Who said yes?"

James rolled his eyes. "Sophie, Padfoot. You remember."

Sirius nodded and looked at Remus appraisingly. "Nice work. I knew you weren't spineless."

Remus made a grab for him, but Peter was in his way. "Ouch! Next time, warn me before you do that Moony!"

Remus apologized to Peter, but eyed Sirius. "Who you going with then?"

Sirius didn't even hesitate. "Kaitlin Grunner."

Everyone was surprised and started making comments because Kaitlin from Hufflepuff happened to be heavily considered the most beautiful girl in seventh year but also completely unattainable because she didn't date. Lauren, however, just rolled her eyes and stared at him pointedly. "Have you even _asked_ her yet, Sirius?"

Sirius frowned as he looked over at Lauren. "Oh yeah, I should do that."

Lily was about to comment, but Lauren held up her hand wearily. "I'll handle this one, Lily. Sirius, lesson #246 in tips for girls: you must ask a girl to an event, no matter what said event is. Plain and simple."

Sirius smirked at her. "I'll keep that in mind."

Christina nudged him. "Oh, come on. Lee even asked me, and we're dating."

Sirius frowned at this, and eyed James, who in turn, smiled cheekily. "Yes, Padfoot. I asked Lily too."

Now, he scowled. "You just did that because you're whipped."

James rolled his eyes. Nothing could bring him down today. "And I've told you I have no problems with that."

Lily started giggling. "Leave him alone, Black."

Sirius turned to Lauren. "Is Dan taking you?"

Lauren nodded, playing around with her food. "He asked me at the quidditch party."

Sirius sighed. "Wormtail, do you have a date too? Am I really the last one?"

Peter nodded, surprising them. He was rather shy and had a hard time with girls, especially because unlike the rest of the Marauders, he was shorter, a little plumper around the middle, not a quidditch player, and not amazingly talented with magic. "I'm taking Jenna Nelson from Hufflepuff."

Lauren looked at him quizzically. "Fifth year, right? I think I know her. She's really nice."

Peter nodded. "Yep."

Christina nudged Sirius again, her eyes twinkling. "Better get a move on, or your dream girl will probably be taken."

Everyone laughed as Sirius rolled his eyes. Only Lily seemed to notice he looked rather sad as he looked at Christina. That's when she remembered what James had told her in Hogsmeade a while back. She immediately widened her eyes into her breakfast. She wondered if Sirius still liked her. Everyone else continued to talk animatedly about their dates and the dance, but she looked over at James to see if he had caught the moment with Sirius. However, he was looking rather troubled as he gazed over at the professors' table. She gently touched him on his back, startling him, so she immediately became concerned. "What is it?"

James looked back over at Lily in surprise. He hadn't wanted her to catch what he was thinking about. It was something that had completely slipped his mind in his happiness— something he would have to tell her about his family now. He gave her a small smile, leaning in towards her ear, "Remind me to tell you about something when we have a lot more time and we're alone, ok?"

Lily was looking at him curiously now, but she nodded and turned back to her breakfast. She would definitely remember to ask him about it later.

The day went by rather quickly. Lily had Arithmancy and Ancient Runes though so it was one of those days where she met James for dinner instead of just walking with him for most of the day. She made her way towards the Great Hall, which was jam-packed with people already. She had no idea how she was always one of the last ones there on this day every week. She immediately spotted the Marauders and Christina, but both Lauren and James were not among them. She sat down with a sigh. "Where are Lauren and James?"

Sirius grimaced. "Lauren is arguing with Dan right now, over to your left. If you see her pull out her wand, remember to duck for cover. James is talking with Dumbledore in the back corner. I'm not surprised you didn't see him. They're making an effort to be inconspicuous. Doesn't work with me though."

Lily was surprised. She glanced over to see what he meant about James, and noticed that he and Dumbledore were both indeed in a very serious discussion standing off to the side in the shadows. She then turned her attention to Lauren, who looked rather ticked off, but not like she was gonna explode; it was more like she was highly annoyed with whatever Dan was saying. "Interesting. I think Lauren will be ok though. She doesn't look that bad."

Within five minutes or so, James returned to the table looking deep in thought. Lily's brow furrowed. "You ok?"

James just nodded, grabbing some food. "Add it to the list of 'I'll tell you laters.'"

She nudged him, chuckling. "Aren't you full of secrets today..."

His eyes were mischievous when they glanced back over at her. "Maybe."

His attention was pulled away from her when Sirius kicked him in the shin. He narrowed his eyes at him. "What?"

Sirius gestured slightly toward Lauren, who was still arguing with Dan. "Do you know what that's about?"

James frowned as he eyed Lauren looking so upset. "No. I did mess with Dan's quidditch gear as a prank, but I swear it wasn't that bad. That was before the Ravenclaw match though. He didn't seem upset then so it's got to be something else."

Lily glared at him playfully. "You pranked him? You promised Lauren you wouldn't!"

James looked back at her with a wicked smile. "No, I promised not to prank Ben Hatcher. We never discussed Dan."

The boys all started laughing at that while Lily rolled her eyes. Lauren decided to march over towards them just then, sitting down in a huff, mumbling something about boys. Lily frowned at her obvious irritation. "Are you ok? What happened?"

Lauren looked troubled and like she didn't want to answer her question. She glanced at everyone in frustration before saying, "I'm sorry, guys."

Everyone was confused for a moment, but then Lauren started talking rapidly in French which caused James to stop eating and look up at her in surprise before he just waved his wand at his side. Suddenly, no one could hear anything. Lily was puzzled and looked to Sirius for an explanation, but he just shrugged as he scrutinized James who was now speaking. "They're still speaking in French. James knows I'm a good lip reader. Whatever it is, Lauren didn't want us to know, and apparently, neither does James." He waved his wand at his side, ultimately looking at James with disapproval when no noise was restored. "And that was not a normal silencing charm."

Lily frowned. It was unlike James to do something like that. She watched Lauren and him continue to converse. "Well, it must be important."

Meanwhile, James eyed Lauren curiously and spoke in French, "Keep talking in French so they don't know what we're saying; I just did the family silencing charm. Now, why did you tell Dan how we're related? I thought you said you would come tell me if you wanted to tell someone? Dumbledore doesn't want us to be talking about any of that to new people, especially now. You two aren't even dating officially."

Lauren sighed. "I know, but he was going off about some rumors that are going around about the two of us being in some secret love triangle with Lily because you kissed my cheek in the damn common room. I had to dispute that. No offense, but that's just gross. I do like him, you know. It's not my fault that the boy hasn't asked me out officially yet. Maybe I'll meet a nice boy in Miami and forget all of this melodrama."

James made a face. "That's disgusting. People actually think we're dating secretly? Have they not _seen_ me with Lily?"

Lauren shrugged, and smiled wickedly. "Obviously not. I don't see how anyone could miss how in _love_ the two of you are though."

James looked back at her surprised. "How do you know?"

Lauren waved a hand at him. "Please. I've known since Christmas Break. When are you going to tell her about everything?"

James sighed. "The next time we have some time alone I guess. I hope she's not mad."

Lauren looked at him pointedly. "She's not going to care. She loves you already, dumbass."

James looked at her amused. "Point taken. So what about Dan? You only told him about me, right? Nothing more?"

Lauren nodded. "Yep. He was being such an ass about everything. I think he was just jealous because you caught me on the quidditch pitch. Now, maybe he'll relax. You are quite the strapping young man, capable of making other men insecure, you know. Personally, I never took him for the jealous type. Is it wrong to find that sexy?"

James rolled his eyes. "There are some things I don't need to know, sis. Did you make sure he was going to keep the knowledge to himself?"

Lauren nodded. "Yep. He was rather embarrassed when I told him the truth. The next quidditch practice you hold will probably be interesting. Hailey's back in classes finally, right?"

James grinned evilly. "Yeah, we're having practices again starting next week. I'll have to cook up a better prank for him now just for being mean to you."

Lauren gave him a look. "Don't be too hard on him, but I suppose he deserves it for being an ass just now."

James laughed. "Will do. Don't say anything when I undo the charm, ok?"

Lauren sighed. "I wasn't planning on it."

James waved his wand again, and suddenly the loud hustle and bustle of the Great Hall hit his ears. Everyone was looking at the two of them expectantly. Well, there would be no explaining. He just went back to his dinner with a sigh. He noticed Lauren did too. Sirius looked bothered. "You're not going to say anything, James?"

He looked up at Sirius, slightly pained. He had already argued on Sirius' behalf to know everything, but it hadn't got the go ahead because of Sirius' impulsivity and loose tongue, on occasion at least. Plus, Sirius did not know Occlumency. He refuted everything about pure-bloods, including that useful art. At least Lily was learning. He was going to talk with her about more practice later too, especially if he was going to divulge the information he was planning to. "I really can't. One day maybe, but not today."

Lily was eyeing James curiously. He hadn't looked over at her, but he had reached the hand he wasn't eating with down to hold her hand. Maybe this was more of what he wanted to tell her later. This later discussion seemed like it was going to be rather loaded. She squeezed his hand and continued eating. She wasn't going to give him a hard time about it. Whenever they were alone, he told her lots of things she knew that the guys had no idea about. And, he loved her.

James had evaded her questions about whatever happened a few days ago, continuously saying he would tell her later. She supposed they had had a few things left to do with the dance and then there was homework. He also went out with Remus and the guys last night for Remus' furry little problem. However, she was worried about whatever it was. She could tell something was weighing heavily on his mind. She hadn't slept in his room last night because he had been out with Remus, but now it was 9am, she had nothing to do, and she wanted to talk with him about this. She made a quick decision to wake him up.

She opened his door quietly and smiled at seeing him fast asleep. She made her way over to his bed before climbing onto it and crawling up to him to nudge him. "James, time to wake up."

James groaned into his pillow. "Lils?"

She bit her lip to hide her smile. "No, it's the Queen of England. Now, wake up."

He grumbled at her but eventually rolled over onto his back, his hazel eyes struggling to focus on her. "Yup. Definitely evil."

She glared at him playfully. "Funny. You have things to tell me."

He sighed. "Yes, I do. Can I take a shower and get dressed like you first, love?"

She laughed. "I always like a nice smelling man."

He sat up and kissed her gently. "Give me ten minutes max."

She nodded and watched him walk into his bathroom before leaving his room to wait in the common room. She read through a book on ancient protective charms that James had gotten her from his house while she waited. It wasn't long before he made it out of his room, yawning. "You must be really obsessing over this to make me get up at 9am when I just went to bed at 6am or so."

She nodded, moving to sit closer to him on the couch. "You seem to be worrying about it, whatever it is."

He frowned. "Well, I'm worried about something completely different, but now that you mention it… Anyway, let's talk about the other things first."

Lily was really interested now. "What do you mean?"

James sighed, and pulled out his wand, casting a bunch of different spells around the two of them. Finally, he looked into her pretty green eyes with a smile. "I love you."

She smiled instantly. "I love you too, you git."

He laughed. "Well, that's one of the issues— not a bad one, but the reason for this discussion in the first place. I have to tell you about my family now so that you…understand."

Ok, he totally lost her. She was completely confused. "Why would that make any difference?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't, but there are some things you should know is all."

She was looking at him curiously. "Ok then."

James sighed. "Before I get into it, we need to discuss your Occlumency. It will be rather necessary for you to know it once you know what I'm about to tell you. I'm pretty sure you're ok for now, but as the information will reveal, it is necessary for it to be kept a secret. I'll help you with it. It should go without saying that you shouldn't tell anyone else about this either."

She nodded, and he looked at her for a moment before just saying simply, "Professor Dumbledore is my great-grandfather."

Lily's eyes widened. "Holy Merlin."

He laughed. "Something like that exactly."

Lily was still looking back at him incredulously. "How in the world has that been kept a secret?"

James pointed to his head. "Occlumency, Lily love."

She nodded, still rather taken aback. "While this is monumental news, what does this have to do with you and me being in love, silly?"

He sighed, looking at her hesitantly. "Well, I had to let you know because Dumbledore's family line, which includes me, had this interesting charm placed upon it a long, long time ago for honesty purposes that continues with every generation."

Lily looked at him confused for a second, but then her green eyes widened in understanding. "You can't lie to Dumbledore."

James shook his head. "No, I cannot, which comes to my next point. Technically, neither can you now."

Lily was looking at him oddly. "What do you mean?"

He grabbed her hand in his, playing with her palm as he spoke to her, "I love you, of course, but because you love me back, we are connected via the heart so now you can't lie to Dumbledore either. The charm works so you cannot lie to an elder of the family. The other part is that neither one of us can lie to each other, which shouldn't be a problem since neither of us do that. I just wanted you to know about the charm."

Lily's brow furrowed. "That's heavy, but I've never lied to you and don't plan to so it's not a big deal. So, since your last name is Potter, I'm assuming Dumbledore had a daughter at some point that married into your family?"

James nodded. "You've met her. My Gran, Aimee."

Lily laughed. "Oh, I see it now. The blue eyes…and the attitude."

James smiled. "Yup."

Lily leaned into his side with her head on his shoulder. "So what's with keeping it secret? I mean, I understand some of the problem because it's Dumbledore, but…"

James pulled her onto his lap so he could look at her better. "That's part of it, but the rest is a long, sad story."

Lily ran a hand over his face. He looked so sad. "What happened?"

James sighed. "Well, I have to give you some background first. Dumbledore was in love with a witch named Olivia Burnett, and they had Aimee together, although they never married. They were pulled apart by her family, as they were not happy with her choice. Aimee was raised secretly, which is why no one knew Dumbledore even had a daughter. Dumbledore was always a part of her life, especially when Olivia died under mysterious circumstances. No one truly knows what happened. It appeared to be a poison of some kind, but it was passed off as a natural death by her family. Now, Aimee met my grandfather at some point, and they married. They had four children…with my Dad being the youngest."

He frowned then, stopping his story. Lily knew he didn't have any aunts or uncles or cousins that were Potters so something bad must've happened. She absently played with the hair at the back of his neck to comfort him. He suddenly continued, "You know some of the story of Grindelwald, yes?"

She eyed him curiously. "Just that Dumbledore defeated him in…was it 1945?"

James nodded. "Yes, but there's a lot more to the story than just the end. You see, Dumbledore actually knew Grindelwald when he was growing up. Grindelwald went to Durmstrang, and he used to visit his grandmother periodically in the neighborhood where Dumbledore lived, Godric's Hollow. They talked more than a few times about abstract magic and testing magical limitations— you know, highly intellectual conversations. However, Grindelwald had many more dark ideas than Dumbledore wished to be around so he ultimately stopped conversing with him. Dumbledore began making a name for himself here, which brought Grindelwald back from the north. He and Dumbledore argued badly, leaving Grindelwald feeling quite second-rate and hacked off. He became the feared dark wizard of the time, killing innocents and whatnot in his quest to understand and manipulate magic, but it was in 1943, he did the unforgivable in retribution against Dumbledore."

James looked away from her. "Dumbledore wouldn't come to him anymore so he decided to make a point. He knew all about Dumbledore's life and about Aimee, although he had been magically sworn to secrecy about it when he and Dumbledore had been close, but he was particularly familiar with Dumbledore's style of magic. He used this information to figure out a way to breach Potter Manor. Grindelwald killed my entire family. My Dad was the sole survivor of that evening. He was six when it happened and didn't have a wand to fight back so his oldest brother, my uncle, told him to hide in the one room there was no possible breaking into, which of course, is the secret study. My Dad said he sat in there for hours, not knowing when it was safe to leave. The house elves can't enter that room, and all of them died that night too except for three who had been elsewhere at the time. When he finally did leave the room, he faced a sight I don't think anyone would ever want to see."

Lily was horrified. "Oh my God. That's just…"

He nodded. "Awful, I know."

Lily sunk her head into his shoulder, shaking her head. "I can't imagine just having everyone stripped away from you in one blow, and then to see it…and hear it... Your father and Dumbledore had to have been devastated."

James kissed her forehead and rubbed her back. "To say the least. Potter Manor was adjusted properly and restored. There's no way for something like that to possibly occur again. Dumbledore took my Dad under his wing, being his grandfather and all. Dumbledore avenged our family and stopped Grindelwald for good in 1945. He never explicitly mentioned how he did it or what he even did. The only thing he has ever said on the subject was that there are worse things than death."

Lily looked back up at him sadly. "So it's just you, Dumbledore, and Lauren now?"

James tilted his head to the side, smiling slightly. "And Aberforth, Dumbledore's brother. We don't see much of Great Uncle Abe though. He prefers his loner status. Most people forget Dumbledore even has a brother, and Dumbledore insists on keeping it that way. He wants to protect his family as best he can, but he does it by distancing himself from the family. Everyone believes that I have no family left, although many people inquire as to Lauren and Sirius."

Lily looked at him curiously. "What about the Potter side of the family?"

James laughed. "Oh, there are years and years of genealogy in the secret study. The Potters are a very ancient line of wizards and witches derived from the historic line of Peverell."

Lily was intrigued. "I've heard that name before. I can't remember where though."

James nodded with a teasing smile. "I'm not surprised. I'll let you mull that one over for a while."

Lily gave him a look. "You're being facetious. Don't tease me."

James chuckled into her hair as he hugged her to him. "I might be teasing, but you'll have more fun reading up on it. Trust me. I can't just tell you that stuff. You wouldn't believe any of it until you've at least read some of the material that's out there. You'll bring me back tall tales, I'm sure, but when I tell you the true story, it'll make it that much better."

Lily felt him kiss her neck softly, making her forget all about it. When he pulled back to look at her again, she eyed him curiously. "What about the whole wandless magic stuff?"

He sighed and held out his hand, ultimately lifting a book off the table briefly. "I don't really know. I mean, I can do some small stuff consciously, but I've always had bursts of magic when I'm angry. Most of that dies off after you start school, but it hasn't with me. You'd probably be great at it, seeing as you still like to blow up around your sister all the time. I haven't really taken the time to practice it properly. Technically, most witches and wizards could probably learn to do it to some extent, but once we start school, it's trained out of us as we learn how to use a wand. A wand is nothing more than a stick really— sure, it has a magical core and the combination of the wand material and the core help bring out a person's magical abilities, but each witch or wizard should be able to use their own personal magical core to do magic without it. Most great wizards don't need to use a wand at all if they wanted. A long, long time ago, witches and wizards who could not learn to control their powers wandlessly were considered squibs because all they could do was minimal bouts of uncontrolled magic. Learning to control wandless magic takes a large amount of effort or natural talent, which most people don't possess. This all changed with the invention of the wand."

Lily smiled at him with a raised eyebrow. "How come you know all of these weird facts?"

James laughed. "My parents' History of Magic lessons were far more interesting than Binns, and I actually paid attention. What else was I going to tell you about? I forgot."

Lily chuckled and looked mischievous. "What were you and Lauren talking about the other day? She seemed so upset at first, but then she was fine."

James made a face. "She just didn't like arguing with Dan. She had to tell him that she and I were related because apparently, according to a lot of Gryffindors, Lauren and I are supposedly dating behind your back."

Lily started giggling into her hands. "Oh my God. That's hilarious. This is about the kiss in the common room, right? I noticed a bunch of people looking at you oddly after that."

He pushed some of her hair behind her ear with a smile. "I wish I had noticed. I would have kissed you in a much more romantic way to tell them to sod off."

Lily smiled cheekily. "You're not one for PDA, Mr. Potter."

James grinned wickedly at her. "Every once in a while, it's good to give the rumor mill something to talk about."

She blushed slightly. "You're incorrigible."

He kissed her gently. "That's ok."

Lily reluctantly pulled away from him before he could take it further. "You're distracting me."

James laughed, his eyes mischievous. "Oops. Sorry. What can I say? You're beautiful."

Lily shook her head at him, although she was still smiling. "I wanted to ask you about Sirius."

James was confused. "What about him?"

She rolled her eyes. "You didn't notice, did you? Boys…"

He chuckled at her mock annoyance. "What didn't I notice, Lily love?"

Lily sighed dramatically. "Sirius and Christina! Didn't you see him look at her, especially when we were talking about dates for the dance? I think he still really likes her."

James looked surprised. "Well, if he does, he's keeping it to himself. However, if you saw a hint of something, it looks rather suspicious that he is taking Kaitlin to the dance, don't you think? Both are blonde, blue-eyed pretty girls… Completely different personalities though, although I've never said Sirius thought things through."

Lily considered this as she rested comfortably on his shoulder. "Maybe."

He was quiet for a bit, just running his hand tantalizingly slow over her back as she lay on him. Lily frowned, remembering there was something he was worrying about that he was supposed to be discussing in this conversation too. "What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"

He sighed. "You saw me speaking with Dumbledore that day, right?"

When he felt Lily nod, he continued, "Well, a Ministry witch was found dead that day."

Lily's head popped up to look at him incredulously. "What? It wasn't in the Prophet."

James nodded sadly, but he seemed to look angrier as he continued to speak, "Yeah, I know. I looked for it. Apparently, the Ministry is covering it up a bit. They don't want to start a panic over one little death."

Lily frowned, but then asked softly, "Who was it?"

James sighed. "A rather powerful witch in her own right— Melody Tripnor. She was a huge influence in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. With her gone, things are going to get a bit murky there for a while."

Lily gazed at him hesitantly. "It was him, wasn't it?"

His hazel eyes met her bright green ones. "Yup. There was a Dark Mark drawn next to her mangled body with the words, 'It's time to play' written neatly underneath her."

Lily grimaced. "That's sick."

James broke their gaze, frowning because he possessed similar sentiments. "Yes," he responded quietly. "Yes, it is."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

So, I figured it would help if I show people how the family tree works in a simpler format so people aren't confused (mainly because it took me a while to sort it out myself). Yes, I know this is different to the actual Harry Potter storyline, but it's my story and I am writing it post-HBP even though I began writing the story post-DH. There's a reason for everything. Here are the following names and birth years of the pertinent Potter line summarized from the chapter:

Albus Dumbledore 1881 – Olivia Renee Burnett 1882

/

Aimee Lynn Burnett (Dumbledore) 1902 – Harry James Potter I 1902

/

(3 siblings: 1926 (brother), 1930 (sister), 1932 (brother)) and

Andrew James Potter 1937 – Judith Anne Myers 1937

/

James Harry Potter 1960

Aimee, Harry I, and the 3 siblings died in 1943 in Potter Manor.

Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald in 1945.

Andy and Judy, of course, died in 1977.

Although it can be inferred from the story, Lauren was born in 1961.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – Valentine's Day

Lily woke up on Valentine's Day quite comfortably in James' strong arms. She didn't think she'd ever tire of this. It sort of scared her to be getting so used to something so fast, but it was odd— it just felt right somehow.

She must've moved in her sleep for once because somehow she had turned to rest on her stomach. However, James had followed her and his arm was wrapped around her from behind, essentially pulling her closer to him. She was positive she was the only one awake. He rarely woke up before she did. This was something he complained about, saying he wanted to watch her sleep. She had blushed horrendously when he had told her that, but he insisted that it wasn't fair that she always got to do it to him. She hadn't had a reply for that, considering it was true.

She started feeling her right arm go numb since she was lying on it funny so she knew she was going to have to move. She gently tugged at his arm that was tucked around her so she could maneuver away from him before she moved around so he wouldn't wake up, but she had never been able to do that successfully. Sure enough, she heard his breath hitch behind her. "Morning, Lils."

Since Lily knew he was awake, she immediately turned herself to lie on her back so her right arm was no longer tingling. "Morning."

He remained exactly as he was, with one arm still thrown over her comfortably and his eyes still closed. She smiled at him, running her free hand over the side of his face. "You can't sleep forever, you know. You promised me lunch today."

He grinned, keeping his eyes shut. "I never break my promises. Happy Valentine's Day, love."

"And the same to you."

He finally opened his eyes, ultimately looking into her pretty green ones, which were observing him. He never thought he'd get tired of seeing her in his arms first thing in the morning. He thought she looked gorgeous in the morning, even though she would say she didn't. There was something about her slightly tousled hair, bright green eyes, and the content, relaxed expression on her face after getting a full night's sleep. Some girls needed make-up to be beautiful, but not Lily. She barely wore make-up anyway. She was a natural beauty. "You're beautiful."

She blushed completely. She hadn't been expecting a compliment. "Aren't you the charmer this morning…"

He kissed her cheek. "If you say so."

She nodded, her eyes twinkling. "I do."

He closed his eyes and relaxed against her again. She rolled her eyes with a knowing smile, even though he couldn't see either action. Soon, she didn't really care. He was running his fingers gently over the sliver of skin along her stomach which was exposed between her camisole and shorts. She loved when he touched her in any way, but she especially loved the tiny affectionate gestures he didn't even know he did. She sighed softly. "I love you."

His face was buried in her neck, but she could feel him smile. "I love you too."

She ran her hand over his arm gently, letting him rest with her for a few more minutes. Eventually, it was definitely time for the two of them to get up. She turned her head slightly, kissing his forehead. "Come on, James. We have to get down to the carriages."

He sighed, but ultimately lifted himself up to look down at her. He leaned down and kissed her lips gently. "Ok. You go get ready."

Lily nodded, reluctantly rolling away from him. James watched her walk out of his room with a knowing smile on his face. He sat up on his bed, stretched a bit, and then waited. He didn't have to wait long. Soon, Lily came back into his room with a pretty smile on her face and practically jumped onto his lap. "How in the world did you do that?"

James laughed despite his surprise over her practically jumping on him. He wrapped his arms around her to situate her more comfortably. He had made sure that Lily had a dozen yellow/pink roses on her bed that morning. Although he thought gifts were overrated on this day, he knew flowers were always nice. "I had Greta do it actually."

Lily looked at him surprised, although she was still grinning adorably. "You used MY owl?"

James grinned and asked sarcastically back, "Did you know that ward on your room also works for male OWLS?"

Lily immediately started laughing. "You're kidding!"

James chuckled. "I most certainly am not. I asked Matty to try getting into your room to see if I could do this, but he came back all bothered and he ignored me so I figured something was up. I did a couple of tests, only to come to that conclusion. I had to go to the Owlery yesterday afternoon to bother your owl, but she seemed happy to do it."

Lily was still giggling. "Male owls can't get into my room. That's hilarious."

James ran his fingers though her red hair with a smile. "I know. I think Matty is mad at me now because I was laughing so hard when I figured it out."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Thanks for my flowers, even though you didn't have to do anything."

He ran his hands over her back as he held her close to him. "You're welcome. Now, go get ready so we can go to Hogsmeade with the rest of the school instead of underneath my cloak."

She kissed him quickly one more time before she hopped up and practically skipped out of his room. He smiled. He loved making her happy.

They eventually made it to Hogsmeade and ate lunch with a whole bunch of people. Their group had grown considerably when everyone's dates were involved. Sirius had brought Kaitlin, who was rather reserved among the group, being rather shy and introverted. Sirius would often whisper in her ear though, making her smile. She seemed comfortable with him, at least. Remus had brought Sophie, who was as pretty as she was smart. She would constantly be telling Remus about something intellectual, and he would listen to her attentively, responding in time. The two of them were definitely in their own little world. Peter had brought Jenna, but she seemed distant, and it looked like she felt out of place, being the youngest of the group. Peter and she would talk, but it clearly wasn't a perfect match.

Christina had brought Lee. The two of them had been dating for a little over two months now, and they were fairly comfortable with one another. However, Lily did notice that whenever Christina would talk with one of the guys, even James, he looked a little put off. She wondered if he was jealous or just didn't really get along with the Marauders; the guys treated him fine so she had no idea what was up with him. She couldn't help noticing he was particularly bothered by Sirius. This made her think back to her theory about Sirius and Christina once more. Maybe Lee had noticed something there too. She supposed not all boys were ignorant. James wasn't, Remus wasn't, and she supposed Lee must not be either.

Lauren had brought Dan, which was funny because James had been staring at him threateningly on purpose to make him nervous. Lily had told him to stop, but she knew it was futile. Dan was now incredibly jumpy, pulling at the collar of his polo shirt every once in a while and looking back at James with a hint of uneasiness in his demeanor. Lily knew that Dan was aware that James and Lauren were related, but she was sure that this knowledge actually scared him more than when he had thought they were dating. Lily had never had a brother, of course, so it was amusing to her to see an overprotective big brother in action. Lauren kept rolling her eyes at James in exasperation, telling him to knock it off, but he would just smile at her innocently like he hadn't been doing anything in the first place.

She and James were easily very comfortable with one another, more so than any of the others. She supposed that was a good thing, considering they had been dating for a little over three months now. Besides when he was giving Dan the evil eye, his attention was all on her. The two of them talked animatedly about everything. It wasn't until it was about time to head back up to the school to decorate did Lily start to freak out. There was so much that needed to be done, and she was a perfectionist. She needed to help organize the decorations; she needed to make sure everything went ok with the dinner; she needed to make sure everyone did what they were supposed to and were where they were supposed to be… Wait, she also needed to get dressed!

James had noticed her get jumpy about everything about an hour or so before they were going to leave. He immediately tried to help her calm down, by whispering in her ear and rubbing her back gently as they finished eating. Lily had noticed Sirius smiling at the two of them. As much as he ragged on James, she knew he actually enjoyed seeing the two of them happy together. They soon excused themselves from the group only a little early, making sure that Remus and Sophie were going to be leaving soon too. James didn't hesitate to apparate the both of them back to the Hogwarts gates as soon as they made it outside.

Lily kept pulling on James to get him to move faster, but he would just laugh and keep his pace exactly the same. Lily started babbling incessantly about all of her worries and how she was going to maim him for not moving faster. They had almost made it to the Entrance Hall, and Lily was still dragging James, completely frustrated. She was speaking rapidly about him being lazy and how things were never going to work out like they should, particularly because he was causing her to be late, when James suddenly kissed her. She was so surprised that she didn't even bother to stop him, and by the time she got her bearings enough to be able to push him away, she didn't want to. He kissed her for a few more seconds before pulling back to look into her eyes with a smile. His hands ran down the sides of her arms. "Lily, please don't worry. Everything is going to be perfect. I promise— even if I have to do extra work because Beatrice does nothing all afternoon."

Lily was looking back at him and his amused expression, slightly unsure whether she was angry with him or just really in love with him. Her heart won out. She complained, "How do you do that?"

James pushed a few of the strands of hair that had come out of her ponytail back behind her ear. He sighed, as he ran a hand over her face, still observing her contently. "I love you."

Lily gave him a small smile. "I love you too."

He kissed her forehead and then began pulling her along toward the Great Hall. "Come on, we _do_ have lots to do this afternoon, but no more fretting. Everything will get done as it should, ok?"

Lily nodded. She pulled his arm closer to her as they walked. He had done the impossible and had managed to calm her down before she made herself go crazy. But now, she could really care less about the dance. She just wanted to go somewhere and snog him senseless. After the two of them had been sleeping next to each other for a little over a week, their snogging had become more intense and now just one kiss from him seemed to make her want so much more. She supposed they would have all the time they wanted to later. Business first, fun later. But Merlin, did she want to snog him.

The Great Hall had been transformed into looking like a park with a main Gazebo stage for the band, a large dance floor near the stage, and a bunch of tables for the dinner. There were pretend street lights along the walls that were dimmed appropriately; the Great Hall ceiling had been charmed to reflect the time just after a sunset, with all the stars twinkling in the slightly darkened sky; there were charmed paper hearts and arrows in pink, red, and purple fluttering around the room with shimmering sparks following their every move; and everyone was in awe over Dumbledore's complex transfiguration to make it seem like they were standing on grass— it was like bringing the outdoors inside.

James had sent all of the females, including Lily despite her protests, back to the dorms to get ready for the dance about a half hour ago. He was now stuck with all of the sixth and seventh year guys, who were all grumbling over being stuck with helping decorate the Great Hall for a dance that they all considered to be mainly for the girls. James personally thought they were all hypocrites. He knew they all wanted to go to the dance just as bad because they could see the entire female Hogwarts population all dressed up. He didn't really care about their bitching. They only had to finish the main banner for the stage. He and Remus could handle that. Besides, Professor Flitwick was still hanging around helping. "Ok guys, you can all head off. Thanks for all your help. Remus, could you stay and help me with this last bit?"

Remus nodded while all of the guys looked relieved and started high-fiving one another now that it was finally time for them to leave. The only two people still acting all dignified were Snape and Charles Mulciber, the sixth year Slytherin prefect. James frowned at them both. He had noticed Snape looking over at him with utter loathing quite a bit during the whole afternoon. Lily had distracted him from most of it, but over the past half hour, his distraction had been gone. He didn't know what Snape's problem was personally. He had refrained from hexing him at Lily's behest. In his opinion, she was too kind for her own good. He respected her wishes though. He supposed looking back on all of the pranks the Marauders had pulled on the Slytherin, they had been a little harsh.

At the same time, Snape had never done him any favors. In fact, Snape was quite possibly the only person he had met prior to coming to Hogwarts that he had disliked straight away. Snape's mother was a pure-blood, a horrible one, but Snape had inherited her snootiness. James had bore witness to his behavior when they both had been almost nine years old. James had watched him laugh haughtily at someone abusing a house elf before going over to shove some kid out of his way so he could pass. After that, the two of them never even observed niceties around the other. Sure, they had been young, but first impressions are what sticks.

James got one end of the banner while Remus got the other. Professor Flitwick cast permanent sticking charms on both ends, and all three of them levitated it up so it would stick along the top of the Gazebo for the band. James thanked Professor Flitwick for all of his help before starting to head back out with Remus. He sighed. "Glad the work is done. Finally."

Remus laughed. "It was worth it though. The girls will really like how it looks."

James smiled mischievously. "Are we going to do anything tonight? Sirius was asking me earlier, but we've all been rather busy and haven't thought about it."

Remus shrugged. "We don't have to. That would be more of a surprise."

James laughed. "I suppose I'd rather be snogging Lily. Does this mean we're growing up? Choosing snogging over pranking?"

Remus smiled devilishly. "I'd rather be snogging Sophie too. Maybe it does."

They both laughed with one another before Remus left for Gryffindor Tower and James made his way to the Heads' Dorm. James knew Lily was getting ready with Christina in her room so he just went straight to his room to lie on his bed. It was 6:15pm. That meant he had forty-five minutes to do nothing. It wasn't going to take him longer than a half hour to get ready. He picked up one of his books about complex wards, one he had gotten for Christmas, and proceeded to waste some time. He eventually put on a black muggle suit with a black tie. He tried in vain to flatten his hair somewhat, but ultimately just let it be. His hair never listened to him anyway. He made his way out to the common room to wait for the girls, bringing his book along just in case they took some extra time.

He was absentmindedly reading about how to find the weakest point on a combination ward when he heard Lily's door open. His mouth dropped a little as he got his first look at her. She was always beautiful, but when she went all out, she was beyond gorgeous. She was wearing a fitted black dress that fell flowingly just past her knees, but the front of it was cut almost triangularly, showing off her lily pendant and a little more. Her hair was partially pulled back with a barrette, but it was mostly left down; she had curled it slightly so it lay over her shoulders in loose waves. Her make-up made her green eyes jump out at him. "Wow, Lils… You look absolutely stunning."

Lily blushed slightly, but smiled at him. "Thanks. You look rather handsome yourself all dressed up."

He was still staring at her as she adjusted his tie critically. When she was finished, he took her hand and spun her around slowly. The dress had absolutely no back to it, and fit her perfectly. "You're beautiful."

They were both staring at each other for a few moments, until someone cleared their throat. They both turned back to Lily's door, where Christina was standing, also looking incredibly beautiful all dressed up. She was wearing a pale blue dress that brought out her eyes with her blonde hair swept back with only a few strands of hair hanging about. She had her hands on her hips with a playful smirk on her face. "If you two are finished oogling one another, can we make our way down so I can meet MY date?"

James chuckled. "Sure, Christina. You are also looking absolutely lovely this evening."

Christina nodded at him with a teasing smile. "Why, thank you, James. Lily, you be sure to keep him trained. I like him."

Lily giggled and grabbed James' arm, pulling him slightly towards the sphinx. "I got it covered, thanks."

James rolled his eyes, but leaned over and kissed Lily's cheek. "Come on, you two. Let's get going."

The three of them talked excitedly about the dinner and the dance as they headed toward the Gryffindor common room where everyone was supposedly meeting. As soon as they made their way around the corner, Lily wasn't surprised to see the group waiting outside the portrait hole for them. Lee immediately greeted Christina, calling her exquisite, but Lily had been drawn to the interesting expression on Sirius' face. Now, she had never seen him look taken aback or speechless before, but his expression was about as close as it was going to get— and he was looking at Christina. She saw him shake his head a bit before returning his attention to Kaitlin, his date.

Although she was still holding onto James' arm and he was making no move away from her, she noticed his attention had been diverted to Lauren and Dan. Lauren, who looked stunning in sweats and a camisole, was hard not to look at because when she was dressed up, you were practically drawn to her. She had on a deep forest green halter dress with her dirty blonde hair pulled up in a French twist with an off-center part which left strands of hair draping over the side of her face. The color of her dress was making her hazel eyes look deep green. Top all that with her full red lips, and she was breathtakingly beautiful. James eyed Dan carefully. "I'm watching you."

Dan looked really scared by this threatening comment, but Lauren just rolled her eyes at him, pushing James slightly. "Shut it, James."

James winked at her. "What? I'm just kidding. Well, sort of. You look beautiful, Lauren."

Lauren reluctantly smiled at his compliment. "Thank you, but your suave charm is not always going to save you from my wrath."

James laughed. "That's what you keep telling me, but I've yet to see it."

Lily smiled. Lauren talked big, but she and James got along famously for being almost siblings. They all eventually made their way to the Great Hall after Sirius announced that he was starving. The girls were all in awe over the dance decorations. Both Lily and Sophie commented on the nice last minute things the guys must've done to make it look the way it did. The group all got to sit at one table, since each table sat twelve people. Dumbledore said a few words, mentioning the work by all the prefects while also making both Lily and James stand up reluctantly to be appreciated and consequently, whistled at by Sirius. Soon after, they all started looking at the short menus on the tables, calling out the food they wished to order. The food appeared instantly to them. Everyone, including the dates who normally weren't a part of the group, was enjoying themselves.

As they were finishing up their dinners, the Marauders would take turns doing interesting magic tricks that none of them had seen before. Soon, it was just Sirius and James going back and forth with one another after Peter ran out of ideas and Remus was dragged into a conversation with Sophie. Lily supposed she could easily pull James away if she wanted to, but the tricks were rather amusing. She had seen both Sirius and James use increasingly complex transfigurations in combination with charms to create something interesting. Right now, James was in the middle of besting Sirius, and they were all giggling over a half-naked, transfigured cherub that was dancing around as a center piece for their table. James eyed his masterpiece critically, before charming the cherub's loin cloth to alternate between red, pink, and purple. He also transfigured one of his extra forks into a mini-violin, which he charmed to float around his dancing cherub playing a hypnotic tune.

Lily was instantly drawn to the music, as were the rest of the females at the table. All of the girls immediately began ignoring the guys and were staring entranced at the cherub. The guys all looked to James, who just smiled mischievously. It wasn't long before all the guys were laughing hysterically over the charm, saying that it would be impossible for Sirius to beat. James stopped the music amidst the laughter. He knew the girls were going to be a little upset.

Lily suddenly blinked and heard all of the guys laughing hysterically around the table. She couldn't remember the last few minutes. When she saw Sirius scowling and James smiling triumphantly, she knew something must've happened to her and all of the other girls because they, too, were looking rather confused. Remus was shaking his head and laughing into his hands. "You win, Prongs. Hands down."

All of the girls began turning their angry, confused looks toward James, wondering what in the world he had just done to them. He held up his hands, smiling innocently. "You girls didn't do anything, I swear. You all just fell in love with my cherub. He is rather cute, don't you think?"

Lily smacked him in the chest for herself and for all of the girls at the table, and everyone laughed at him as he pathetically rubbed the spot on his chest. "You could at least warn us before you do something like that."

James smiled guiltily at her. "But that would have ruined the surprise."

Lily sighed, shaking her head. "So what charm was that?"

James immediately leaned back from her, shaking his head with a sneaky grin. "Nope. Made that one myself. Trade secret."

Lily smiled at him. "Oh?"

Sirius rolled his eyes at the two of them as they began engaging in a clearly sexual staring match. "Hey lovebirds, Dumbledore is getting the band started. Stop making eyes at each other. It's gross."

Lily shot him a pointed look. "You're gross, Black." And then she turned to Kaitlin, apologetically. "It's true, you know. Best that you know now."

Kaitlin giggled while Sirius looked utterly shocked that Lily had just insulted him. "I'll get you one day, Red."

Lily tossed her hair casually, unconcerned. "I'm still waiting. Besides, you'll have to answer to James if you try anything."

James chuckled quietly when Sirius turned to look over at him questioningly. He sighed before saying with a teasing grin, "Leave my girl alone, Padfoot. Just because you're scared of her doesn't mean—"

Sirius looked affronted and interrupted, "I am NOT scared of her."

Lily pulled out her wand, twirling it a bit, while she blinked at him innocently. "Really?"

Sirius was now watching her wand. "Yes, really. Kaity, you wanna go dance? Now?"

Everyone laughed as they watched Sirius pull a giggling Kaitlin out of her seat, whisking her out onto the dance floor to get away from Lily. James kissed Lily on the cheek. "You are the best."

Lily finally got a chance to sit back down at their table for a break after dancing with Remus. Although the band most decidedly was awful according to their whole group, she was still having a wonderful time. She had been dragged to dance not only by James, but by the rest of the Marauders, Lee, and Dan. Everyone had danced with the others' dates at least once by now. For her, the most entertaining moment had been when Sirius had dragged her away from James. He made it his mission to act like a complete idiot on the dance floor with her, probably in retribution for her teasing him after dinner. She had had fun all the same. She personally thought Sirius' manic behavior was a cover for him thinking about Christina. She had seen them dance together only once. During that one dance, Lee had been watching them like a hawk, particularly because Sirius kept Christina smiling and laughing the whole time they were together. Lee had pulled her away after that, sort of keeping her to himself. Sirius seemed to be having fun with Kaitlin, but she knew that Kaitlin was far too timid to be anything more than a fling to him.

Sirius wasn't the only one having an interesting evening. Lily could see from where she was sitting that Lauren and Dan were arguing for the millionth time in the last half hour. She had no idea what it was about; although she was sure it wasn't about James. Despite James' best attempts at being an overbearing big brother, it was always clear that he was joking around. Plus, she had seen him and Dan laughing and talking earlier in the evening. She knew James was going to go interfere at any moment. He was currently dancing with Sophie, but he was watching Lauren and Dan with disapproval clearly etched all over his face. Sure enough, when the song ended, he immediately started heading right for them both. Lily thought it best not to interfere.

Whatever James was saying seemed to calm Lauren, although Dan rolled his eyes, still looking pissed off. She watched James frown at his attitude before he just took Lauren's hand and pulled her away from him. Dan looked incensed before walking off with a scowl on his face. James spoke quietly to Lauren, who was looking slightly disappointed, as they headed straight toward where she was sitting. James pulled out a chair for Lauren before grabbing Lily's hand and pulling her up out of her seat, only to sit in her seat himself and pull her onto his lap. Lily chuckled to herself, hoping to ease their mood. "James, what if I was comfortable?"

Lauren shot her an amused smile. "He doesn't care."

James just rested his chin on her shoulder, with his arms wrapped loosely around her waist. "But you're more comfortable now, right?"

Lily smiled. "I suppose. Is everything alright?"

Lauren sighed. "Dan's jealousy turned out to not be so sexy after all."

James made a face. "Lauren, I already told you that I don't need to hear that sort of thing."

Lily laughed. "Who was he jealous of now? Not James still?"

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Actually, it did seem like that was still a factor, although he finally believes we're related— it's our eyes; they convince people all of the time. This time, his jealousy was mainly with Sirius, and somewhat Remus. He just doesn't understand that I grew up with them so I feel very comfortable around them, particularly Sirius. The thought of me and romance with Sirius is absolutely revolting, but he'll hold my hand and touch my hips when we dance. Stupid stuff. Dan was just being an asshole again. When James told him so, it didn't exactly help the situation."

James shrugged, frowning. "If he can't accept it now, he never will."

Lauren smiled, sighing wistfully. "I'm going to meet a nice American boy in Miami with Tasha."

Lily giggled, but James gave Lauren a wary look. "American boys are going to be a little more upfront than the boys here. It's a good thing you're a force to be reckoned with as a witch and are the best in your year in DADA, otherwise I wouldn't trust any boy with you."

Lauren smirked at him. "Damn straight. Now, you two go dance and be all in love. I'm going to go steal a boy that's not in Slytherin to dance with until my feet get so sore I can't walk. Don't worry about me, Jimmy. I can take care of myself."

James sighed, but he lifted himself and Lily up, taking her hand. "Let me know if you need anything, Lauren. Sirius would probably say the same."

After Lauren made her way toward a large group of students who weren't dancing, James led Lily back out to the dance floor to dance to the slow song which was being sung rather poorly. He twirled her around before wrapping his arms around her loosely and kissing her on the cheek. "You, my love, are easily the most beautiful girl here."

Lily wrapped her arms loosely around his neck, tilting her head to the side appraising him with a small smile. "Not really. I think Lauren actually takes that title quite easily."

James chuckled. "She's beautiful, yes, but you are my favorite for the title."

Lily longed to kiss him right now, but both of them tended to keep their relationship pretty tame in front of other people. She could probably count on one hand the number of times James had fully kissed her in front of a group of people. She wouldn't exactly feel comfortable doing it either. A lot of people tended to watch them together already, but if you add deep kissing, it would just lead to annoying gossip. She settled with standing closer to him. James felt her close the space between them and tightened his hold on her. He whispered into her ear, "I love you."

She smiled and looked up at him to say it back, "I love you too."

The two of them danced together for most of the rest of the evening. It wasn't until Lily mentioned her feet were starting to hurt that James insisted that she sit down. A lot of people were making their way back to the dorms anyway so when James asked her if she wanted to head back, she agreed. He helped her stand and immediately asked her with slight concern, "Are you going to be ok to make it back to the dorm?"

Lily nodded, holding his arm close to her as they began to walk down the corridors and up a lot of stairs. They were about halfway there when James noticed Lily wince slightly from walking. He was just going to carry her the rest of the way back until he had a better idea. He smiled mischievously. "I think you need a break."

Lily was confused by his odd behavior until he quickly pulled her into an unused classroom just off the fourth floor stairwell, waving his wand around a few times. He pushed her gently onto one of the desks so she could sit down, but then his hands were on the sides of her face and he was snogging her quite thoroughly. Lily's fingers reached out on their own accord to wrap into his shirt, pulling him closer to her. He pulled back slightly and whispered against her lips, "I've wanted to do that all night."

Lily nodded affirmatively to his assessment before sliding one of her hands into his hair and pulling his lips against hers once again. Lily wasn't thinking about anything but him at the moment. She had wanted to snog him all day. Now that she was doing it, she didn't want to stop. She couldn't seem to pull him close enough so she opened up her legs slightly, allowing him to step inside them. She felt his strong arms slide around her back in order to pull her body flush against his. She moaned softly at the contact, which just seemed to encourage him. One of his hands slid up her back and tangled into her hair, angling her head so he could tease her with his tongue in a way that made her head extremely cloudy. She just wanted to keep touching him.

James was completely lost in the touch that was Lily. She was pulling at him in a way that made him lose all coherent thought. He wanted her so badly. He ran his hands through her gorgeous hair, over the bare skin of her back, and down to her hips. He had pulled her body as close as it could possibly get to him. He felt one of her legs hook around the back of his leg, essentially keeping him where he was, as if he wanted to be anywhere else. He had no idea how long they had been kissing that way, but eventually Lily's roaming hands demanded his attention as they began to do something he'd only felt her do a number of times. She was now gently touching his hard on through his dress pants. He groaned into her mouth.

Lily pulled away from his lips so she could kiss down the side of his neck, as she continued to stroke him over his clothes. She could feel his hands run erratically over her back and hear his heavy breathing— both of which were turning her on. When he moaned her name softly, she wanted him more than ever before. He suddenly pulled her lips back to his insistently, but she was more than happy to let him kiss her deeply.

James was no longer thinking clearly. His hands slid back to Lily's hips, and he was surprised, but not disappointed, to notice that her dress had ridden up considerably from the way she was sitting. His hands hit the bare skin of her thighs, and it pleased him when she moaned and shivered slightly as he gently pushed his hands up toward her knickers. When his fingers hit something lacy along her bare hips, he was in heaven.

Lily was more than happy to continue, but he eventually pulled her hand away from him, breaking their kiss. He remained close to her, and he whispered breathlessly, "We should stop, or I'm not going to want to."

Lily nodded at his words, equally breathless. However, she was no longer sure she wanted to stop. In fact, she'd rather have him keep touching her right now. James wrapped his arms around her back tightly as he leaned down to kiss her neck slowly. In reality, he was forcing himself and his body to calm down. Lily closed her eyes briefly at his touch; it was intoxicating. She wasn't sure what to say so she blurted out the only thing she could think of, "I suppose my feet feel better."

James chuckled into her neck, and Lily loved hearing the sound. After a few minutes, he sighed. He had no idea how he was going to sleep next to her that night without thinking incredibly dirty things about her. As much as he enjoyed sleeping next to her, sometimes it felt like torture. "We should get back."

He pulled away from her enough to let her stand up. He watched her straighten out her dress and pull her hands through her hair, untangling it a bit. She was still looking at him in a very sexy way too. He leaned down to kiss her extremely kissable lips gently before holding out his hand, which she took instantly.

The two of them didn't talk much the rest of the way back to the Heads' Dorm. James was forcing himself to think about anything but what they had been doing while Lily was thinking of nothing but what they had been doing. They soon made their way inside the Heads' common room, and James led her to her dorm room door. He ran a hand over the side of her face. "Come over whenever you want, ok?"

She nodded and then walked into her room, closing her door behind her. James sighed to himself as he walked over to his room. She didn't seem upset, but when Lily was quiet, it usually meant she was thinking about something. That something could only be their intense snogging so he hoped she wasn't bothered by it, especially because he thought she had enjoyed it. He certainly had at any rate. He took off his dress shoes, throwing them into a corner, and unbuttoned his shirt after tossing his tie and suit jacket into his laundry bin. He was looking around for a pair of pajama pants when Lily knocked on his door. He looked at it puzzled for a second. She had never gotten ready for bed in less than five minutes before. "Come on in, Lils."

When she opened the door and stepped inside, he was surprised to see that she was still wearing her dress, although she had removed the shoes which had been killing her feet, her hair was completely down, and she had taken her make-up off. She still looked incredibly beautiful to him. That dress was amazing on her, and he couldn't help but look over her body in it before meeting her eyes. "What's up?"

She sighed and was looking at him in a way that made his pulse race. "Well, I was thinking…"

He didn't say anything, and instead, waited for her to continue. He was more than a bit distracted by her walking up to him slowly in that sexy dress. When she was pretty much right in front of him, she finished her thought, "I was thinking that I don't want to wait anymore."

He didn't think he could hide his surprise if he had wanted to. She was now running her fingers over his bare chest and stomach, which were exposed through his unbuttoned dress shirt. He liked that a lot, but he couldn't pull his eyes off of her if he tried. Her normally bright green eyes had darkened sexily, she was licking her lips a bit, and she was beyond beautiful. "Umm, are you sure? I mean, I don't want to pressure you into this…"

Did those words just come out of his mouth? There must be something wrong with him. He mentally slapped himself for being so noble. She just laughed softly and seemed to enjoy having him stare at her. "James, I have a feeling I'm going to be just fine."

That seemed to snap him out of his stupor. He immediately reached his hands out to pull her petite body up against his and captured her lips hungrily. Lily's hands ran up and down his bare chest before he felt them slide up over his shoulders and into his hair. He let his hands wander all over her body, thrilled to know that there were no more boundaries. He took a moment to grab his wand from his back pocket, waving it a few times, ensuring any noises would be dulled. Before he could toss his wand, however, he felt Lily pluck it from his fingers, waving it once at herself before she let it go.

Lily tilted her head so he could deepen the kiss in a way that made her feel tingly all over. Keeping one of her hands behind his neck, she used the other to push his dress shirt off of his shoulder in an effort to remove it. James loosened his hold on her only long enough for her to pull the shirt completely off, and it was immediately forgotten on the floor.

James resumed holding her tightly, and let his lips and tongue dance down her neck tantalizingly slow. One of his arms remained around her back while the other ran itself down the front of her body over her dress. He heard her breath hitch and loved how she was gripping at his body while he teased her. His lips soon reached her cleavage, and he suddenly craved to see more of her. His hands made their way around to just above her bum to unzip her dress so he could take her out of it. She pulled his face back up to hers and kissed him thoroughly. He ran his fingers up her back softly, just barely touching her. He broke their kiss to watch as he slipped the tiny straps of her dress off her shoulders, ultimately sending her dress pooling at her feet.

Lily standing in front of him in nothing but some black lacy knickers and staring at him sexily was easily the best sight he had ever seen in his life. She was absolutely perfect in every way. He couldn't stop staring at her. He wrapped his arms around her back and kissed her gently before mumbling against her lips, "You're so beautiful."

Lily shivered at his words. His hands continued to roll over her very exposed body. He seemed to be taking his time exploring every inch of her. Her body was suddenly pulled tightly against his, and feeling her bare body flush against his made her moan softly into his mouth. James proceeded to shift her backwards, still holding her tightly. Lily wound her arms up around his neck and felt him lift her up slightly to lower her onto his bed. He broke their kiss just long enough to make them more comfortable and toss his glasses aside before he finished crawling on top of her to recommence their snogging.

Lily's fingers gently ran down the front of his chest and stomach until they reached the top of his pants. She quickly was able to pull off his belt and undo his zipper. When James felt Lily's soft fingers reach inside of his boxers to stroke him, he broke their kiss to groan into her neck. Her other hand ran over the side of his face as his breath hitched at her actions. He looked deep into her green eyes before snogging the life out of her. He let her continue for a few minutes, but ultimately pulled her hand away. He didn't want this to end before it even began; not to mention, he wanted to explore her body entirely.

She looked like she was about to protest, but he just kissed her lips softly before kissing down her neck and running his hands over her breasts. His lips and tongue were soon exploring all these new areas of her body. He ran his tongue over her breasts and down over her beautiful flat stomach. His hands continued to explore her bum, her lacy knickers, and her thighs until he gently slipped his fingers into her knickers. He heard her gasp slightly, but he groaned into her stomach at feeling her. She was so soft, wet, warm, and…

From that moment on, any favorable sound coming from Lily caused him to repeat whatever action he had just done again and again. She soon was squirming underneath him, panting slightly with her cheeks flushed. After a while, with a strength he didn't know she had, she pulled him back up to her so she could pull his lips back down on hers to kiss him fiercely. He didn't know exactly how they shed the remainder of their clothes because all he was focused on was her. They were snogging passionately when he eventually slipped inside of her. She gasped into his mouth, and he pulled back some, thinking he'd hurt her, but she just pulled him right back to her. He ran his hands down her body, pulling one of her legs over his hips as they continued to move with one another. James tried to think of anything but how good she felt so he could make sure she enjoyed herself first. They both were moaning against one another, but when Lily suddenly moaned his name softly, practically purring in satisfaction, it was his undoing. He had never felt anything so great before.

They both laid that way together for a few moments, breathing heavily. He eventually nuzzled her neck a bit, kissing it gently. "I love you, beautiful."

She sighed softly, running her hands over his back. "I love you too, James."

He rolled off of her waving his hand over them both while thinking '_scourgify_.' They both laid next to one another comfortably as their breathing slowed. Suddenly, Lily's questioning voice broke him from his reverie, "You're sure that was your first time?"

He looked over at her incredulously. "You're sure that was yours?"

She began to laugh, and it was the sweetest sound ever. He immediately reached for her, bringing her close to him. Besides what they had just done, nothing in the world was better than holding her. Lily's head was tucked neatly just under his chin as he hugged her to him. He heard her sigh so he ran his fingers through her silky red hair. "What is it?"

Lily's voice was muffled. "I'm too comfy to go get my pajamas."

He chuckled quietly into her hair before he kissed the top of her head and suddenly rolled away from her. She was just about to ask him what he was doing when he turned around from leaning over the side of his bed to hand her one of his quidditch t-shirts with a smile. "Here you go, Lily love."

His eyes followed her beautiful body as she sat up to take the shirt from him and as she slipped it over her head. He eventually pulled his eyes off of her to throw on some boxers, and soon, they both were ready for bed. He pulled her close to him, kissing her goodnight. "Night, beautiful."

Lily got comfortable lying on his chest before letting her fingers run over his bare skin while she listened to his heartbeat. She had never felt so content with everything before. There was nothing better than being in love with him. "Night."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – Birthday Surprises

Lily was incredibly bored sitting in DADA that morning. It had been a little over a month since Valentine's Day, and everyone had been quite busy in their own way. She and James got along perfectly, especially after their newfound intimacy. The two of them had had quite a bit of fun over the last month. Of course, they didn't shag every night, but it was often enough that the two of them knew much more about each other than they ever did before. If anything, it had only brought them closer to one another, which Lily really liked. She, of course, had mentioned everything to Christina and Shelley, but what made her love James even more was that if he had mentioned it to the Marauders, which she was sure he had, they, specifically Sirius, never teased the two of them about it. She was thoroughly impressed at the way James must have handled the situation; not to mention she was proud of Sirius for acting so maturely about it, even if it was only because James had some blackmail on him to keep him quiet.

James also had been practicing Occlumency with her at least twice a week. She had developed some headaches from it, but James had whipped her up a potion that his family had created for those headaches years ago, although she had to settle for it not working instantaneously. Because the headaches weren't induced normally, traditional headache potions didn't work on them at all. James would let her sleep in his lap after she took the potion. He would rub her temples or her back in an effort to ease her pain. She thought he was amazing. On the upside, she had been improving at Occlumency so much that he had told her that he would ask Dumbledore if he had some time to work with her a bit to fine tune stuff he wouldn't be able to teach her. He also had mentioned it wasn't fair that she was so good at it so quickly, even when they were practicing without her necklace. He had started learning when he was young so having the concentration to do Occlumency had taken him considerably longer to grasp.

Sirius and Kaitlin hadn't lasted more than two weeks before she and James had discovered him snogging a Ravenclaw in an obscure broom closet. Remus and Sophie were still somewhat involved, although nothing was concrete. She had heard Remus lie evasively to her about looking sickly and his furry little problem, especially since he had disappeared for a while earlier in the month. She could tell Sophie didn't buy it. Remus just couldn't lie. Although the guys had mentioned to him that if he liked her, he should just tell her, he refused. He had told them all sternly that no one else could know because if by some off chance it got out because the conversation didn't go favorably, he would be forced to leave the school and Dumbledore would be in trouble. Unfortunately, Lily didn't think Remus and Sophie were going to last because he was being so stubborn. He was jumping the gun so to speak because he really had no idea how Sophie was going to take the news until he told her. Peter and Jenna ended right after the dance. Everyone had encouraged him to try someone knew, but he just would passively say he didn't want to right now. Lily was sure it wasn't because he had desperately liked Jenna, but it was because he just had low self-esteem and didn't know how to go about being confident around girls.

Lee and Christina argued more often than they used to. It was weird that the longer the other relationships around her and James lasted, the more often they fought. She and James had never had that problem. Sure, they argued over stupid little things every once and a while and he knew not to bother her when she was busy with something else, but they never had any large problems. James read her body language incredibly well, likely from him staring at her so much over the years. If she was frustrated, he would calm her down. If she was busy with homework, he left her alone. If she was chatting girly with Christina, he sought out the Marauders. If she was tired, he let her sleep. She could say the same things about her reading him. It was obvious that this understanding was missing with Lee and Christina. There was also the jealousy thing. Lee had started to be increasingly jealous over how much time Christina would spend with Lily and the Marauders. Christina became incredibly annoyed when he seemed to have a problem with her hanging out with Lily. Lily knew he was more concerned about Sirius or the Marauders and not her per se, but Lily now came as a package deal with the Marauders because of James. She felt awful for being a part of Lee and Christina's problems. Christina had told her she was being ridiculous— it was Lee with the problem and she was not exactly interested in dating an insecure man. Lily wasn't positive, but the way she had said that made her think she was going to dump him.

Lauren and Dan never became an item. After the dance, she had told him that she was no longer interested. Dan did not seem to take it well, but it happened nevertheless. James treated him ok at quidditch practice, but it was clear that Dan's behavior toward Lauren had changed his opinion about him as a person. They no longer talked outside of practice. James was definitely a one-chance kind of guy with most people. You're either in his graces or you aren't.

She risked a glance back at her amazing, sexy boyfriend. He was currently looking bored with the Marauders, as they sat in the back of the classroom. He was moving his quill around over the parchment, but Lily knew without even looking at the piece of parchment that he was likely drawing a picture of her or something else and not taking notes. She smiled a bit to herself. As she turned her attention throughout the room, she managed to catch Severus staring at her again. He quickly averted his eyes when she caught him. Lily frowned as she looked back down at her notes. She had caught him doing that a lot lately, and it was starting to creep her out. If he had something to say to her, she would prefer it if he just said it rather than stare at her all the time. It was a good thing James hadn't noticed because Severus would be hexed or the butt of some prank before Lily could do anything to stop him.

Class soon ended, and she had to leave to go run to Ancient Runes. James winked at her before he and Sirius headed off to Divination. Remus and Christina walked with her to class, which seemed to drag on and on. They had moved on to discussing making your own Rune ward, but Lily already knew that James could teach her so much more about wards, and he had never even taken Ancient Runes. Needless to say, she found the professor's teachings a little weak.

The three of them were the first to arrive to lunch, soon followed by James, Sirius, and Peter. James sat down next to her instantly, kissing her on the cheek. He was smiling and happy, which seemed to make her feel better too. "Hey Lils, how was Ancient Runes?"

She shrugged. "Boring. You can help me learn it all later anyway. We're doing Rune wards now."

Remus looked up at her incredulously. "How would James be able to help you with that? I barely understand it! He's not even in our class."

In response, James smiled wickedly before waving his wand intricately while he mouthed a phrase or so to himself. He immediately went back to eating when he was finished. Lily shook her head at him with a small smile as she ate her lunch, but both Christina and Remus were looking around anxiously to see what he had just done, but nothing looked amiss. James sighed when he saw them making too much of an effort. "The treacle tart, guys. Try and grab some treacle tart."

Remus eyed him and tried to reach for some of the treacle tart, but his hand met something solid that burnt his hand slightly, causing it to automatically withdraw from the spot. Four Runish-looking symbols suddenly began glowing in orange writing along the treacle tart container. After Remus' failure, James reached over to grab some treacle tart with no trouble at all. Remus and Christina were now both looking at him with their mouths wide open. Sirius snorted at them. "Moony, please. You've seen him reading all those books. He _does_ actually learn stuff. You underestimate him." He looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, "Me too, come to think of it."

Remus shook his head at James, bewildered. "How'd you do that? You made it so only you could touch it?"

James shook his head, looking at his food. "No, Lauren can reach it too. I can't get in the way of her love for treacle tart on her birthday. That would be cruel."

Everyone's faces looked up at his words in surprise while Sirius groaned. "Damnit. I forgot again. Did you get her?"

James merely nodded, but didn't elaborate on Sirius' comment. Lily was shocked that he hadn't told her. "It's Lauren's birthday? How come you didn't mention it?"

James gave her a pained look. "Please don't make a big deal out of it for her… She doesn't exactly like to celebrate it. Sirius and I just play jokes on her instead. We gave her a birthday present already so…"

Lily was searching his eyes as he said this, not fully understanding what he meant. However, the longer she thought about his expression and when she had last seen it, she remembered him talking about when his family had been killed. That look in response to death in combination with Lauren could only mean…her parents. Lily immediately looked away from him. How horrible for something like that to have occurred on her birthday. He and Sirius obviously tried to take her mind off of it without celebrating it completely.

Lauren chose that time to join them, plopping down angrily on the other side of James, and she was glaring fiercely at him. "I HATE you, Jimmy."

James just smiled and sipped his pumpkin juice like she had told him the weather outside was sunny. "That's nice, Lauren."

His lack of reaction seemed to incense her. "Do you have _any idea_ how embarrassing that was?"

Sirius was grinning now. "How embarrassing what was?"

James smiled evilly, flicking his wand casually, and her satchel that he had gotten her for Christmas sprang open. Suddenly, about twenty fairies flew out of the bag flying all around Lauren while they shouted a whole host of things including 'I'm seventeen!,' 'Marry me, I'm legal!,' 'I'm cuter than you are!,' and 'Happy birthday to me!'

Lauren turned bright red as everyone in the Great Hall turned to see what the commotion was all about. She sighed pitifully, sinking into the table in embarrassment. The group started laughing at her, not to mention those in the Great Hall who had figured out what was going on. James finally took pity on her and put the fairies back in her satchel. He forced himself to look innocent. "But Lauren, I thought you'd like having a fan base follow you around all day…"

This just made the others laugh harder. Lauren, however, looked up at him with a gleam in her eye. James had seen her wand move so he automatically shot out of his seat, casting a shield charm around himself. Lauren's spell was deflected, and she was looking murderous. Everyone in the Great Hall had stopped talking to watch the commotion again once they saw a red spell bounce off toward the enchanted ceiling. Sirius ducked for cover, looking fearful for his life. Lily was looking at the both of them in surprise. She had never seen either of them move that quickly before. James had his wand out still, and he was eyeing Lauren warily. "Lauren Anne, that was not very nice."

Lauren was standing up now with her wand on him, and her eyes were flashing. "Oh, and what about the wake-up call? And the charms on my textbooks? And what about what you did to King! He's _pink_, James!"

James gulped. Everyone was looking at the two of them interestedly, considering Lauren's voice had gotten more and more shrill as she finished her rant. He was just about to cast the family silencing charm when Dumbledore entered the Great Hall from the main entrance. Considering he had a hot pink owl on his shoulder, it was understandable why his presence immediately acquired everyone's attention. He walked up to Lauren and James as if there had been no chance of them cursing each other into oblivion. He casually gestured to the owl, looking at James pointedly. "James, if you could rectify this. He's awfully displeased."

James waved his wand a few times and the owl returned to its normal brown and black. The owl hooted angrily and nipped at James before he flew out of the Great Hall. Dumbledore turned his attention to the two of them, leaning in so there would be no eavesdroppers. "Come see me later, and end this show of yours. Lauren, he's only trying to make you smile, and James, there are plenty of other nicer ways you could've done that."

They both nodded to him and as he made his way up to the professors' table, they both sat back down next to each other as if the whole thing hadn't happened in the first place. Sirius slowly pulled himself back up, still eyeing Lauren warily. "Lauren, I love you more than he does."

Lauren just sighed and looked at him pointedly. "No you don't, Sirius."

James glanced at Sirius, smirking. "Suck up."

Lily laughed. "You guys are so mean. Leave the poor girl alone."

James smiled devilishly. "She's only seen the half of it."

Lauren glared at him again. "There better not be any more, Jimmy."

James held up his hands, his eyes twinkling. "Not from me, anyway. I did my _half_."

Lauren seemed to understand his meaning and turned to Sirius, her eyes wide. "Don't you dare…"

Sirius pouted at her. "But I was just thinking of some great ideas, Lauren. You can't let me not have any fun."

Lauren glared at him for a bit, but when Sirius merely stared blankly back at her during that time, she just sighed wearily and started grabbing some lunch. She seemed to have accepted her fate. James and Sirius were difficult to argue with. Lily turned to James, keeping her voice low so no one could hear her. "What's with Dumbledore? He doesn't look very happy up there."

James turned his attention toward the professors' table to see what she meant. Dumbledore was speaking in hushed tones with McGonagall, and he looked very serious and slightly angry. James frowned. "I'm not sure. He wanted to talk to Lauren and I later. I hope it's not about that. It doesn't look good."

Sirius must've heard some of his last comments and had noticed that James' attention was turned to the professors' table. "Dumbledore wants to speak to you and Lauren? About what?"

Lauren immediately interrupted James before he could come up with a story. She also had noticed Dumbledore's demeanor. "My apparition test probably."

James shot Lauren a look before turning back to his food, frowning. "You were supposed to go on Saturday with me. I don't think that's going to happen now."

Lily could read between the lines in James' words. If he didn't think he could leave Hogwarts, then he must be thinking something bad must've happened. Lily rubbed his back, indicating her understanding. "Well, let's not worry about anything yet. I have a feeling Care of Magical Creatures should be more pressing seeing as we have to be there in ten minutes."

That seemed to get everyone's attention. Afternoon classes started in ten minutes.

James' mind kept wandering all afternoon through his classes. He was very interested to know what was going on in the world to make Dumbledore look so serious. He didn't have to wait long though because as soon as he made his way into the Great Hall for dinner that night, hand-in-hand with Lily, the chaotic talking and panicked looks being shot around were enough to have his worst fears confirmed. They immediately made their way to the table, where extra copies of the rare Evening Prophet were scattered about. Lily grabbed a copy before he could, but she held it out for the both of them to see. She gasped and covered her mouth in surprise. James grimaced, but he had expected nothing less.

_MUGGLES AND MUGGLEBORNS ATTACKED!_

_Early this morning, there was a massive attack in the western side of London, a place known as an attraction for muggleborn witches and wizards due to its close proximity to muggle London and Diagon Alley. There have been a number of deaths reported, both muggle and muggleborn alike, although the Ministry of Magic has not yet released any names._

_According to the few muggle eyewitnesses that have come forward, there were "roughly about forty black-robed individuals that appeared seemingly out of nowhere (apparition) who used stick things (wands) with flashing green light (the Killing Curse)." There was also a great deal of property damage from magical fire._

_What had scared muggleborns from their homes in western London was the presence of the Dark Mark shining high in the sky. Within minutes, there was mayhem. It is this symbol that is suggested to have lured many muggleborns out of their home only to meet their deaths. With the Dark Mark's presence and the muggles' accounts of what appears to be the fabled Death Eaters, we can only conclude that You-Know-Who has struck again. Muggleborns, who have escaped this tragedy alive, have already begun relocating in an effort to minimize the possibility of such an event occurring again. More will be divulged as updates poor in._

James and Lily hadn't even noticed anyone else was near them until they heard Sirius scowl. "What did my parents do now?"

Lily was startled by his comment and watched him sit down as if he had heard it all before. James sighed while he gently grabbed Lily's elbow, urging her to sit down even though she was still somewhat in a state of shock. "They've been quiet. They were bound to be planning something big."

Lily was still confused as she looked over at Sirius. "Wait, your parents?"

Sirius frowned. "Most likely…and my Aunt and Uncle. Bella would be front row if she weren't still in school. Rumor has it among the family that she is infatuated with You-Know-Who. I'm not sure about Cissa. Reg will probably be forced to join up. He's really smart. Last I heard was that he was going to be bumped to seventh year next year instead of going into sixth. It's all because he's such a damn pushover though. He can't do anything on his own and has been doing everything Mother Dearest has asked of him since before I left the house."

Lily looked dismayed. "But all those people…"

James squeezed her hand. "No one is going to take this lightly, Lils. They'll all get theirs."

Lily nodded, but she still wasn't appeased. To know that someone out there was gunning for people like her and succeeding in killing them was a highly alarming piece of information to receive. She knew James or any of their friends didn't think any less of her for being muggleborn, but the fact of the matter was that she was one. It made her worried— worried for herself and for her family. She was positive this was how James felt all of the time, considering everything going on around him and his family.

The others didn't take the news well either as they joined them. Remus was quiet for a while, but eventually made a quiet side comment that his kind was actively being sought by the Death Eaters. This disturbed everyone greatly.

Both James and Lauren remained quiet throughout dinner. No one seemed to notice except Lily. This was due to the fact that she knew much more of what was going on than the others. Once dinner was over, however, James turned to her. "Lauren and I were supposed to go see Dumbledore. You can come if you'd like."

She felt his thumb run over the back of her hand which he had been holding throughout dinner. She gave him a small smile. He was basically telling her that he had no secrets from her so she could feel free to come along. "Sure."

Sirius nodded. "Can I come too?"

Lily could tell James hadn't meant for that to happen, but he shrugged like it didn't matter. In the end, the whole group of them wanted to come along. James had frowned at the turn of events, but didn't say anything to straighten it out. This meant that whatever was going to be said in this meeting with Dumbledore wouldn't be what he had been expecting. Lily was sure that whatever needed to be said would eventually be said, even if he merely had to hear it later or it would just be insinuated by some of the things Dumbledore said during the meeting. On the other hand, Dumbledore could also just tell the lot of them that he wanted to speak to James and Lauren alone. Lily knew James would just tell her later. They all made their way up to the Headmaster's Office, and once in front of the gargoyle, James turned to her slightly. "What's the password again?"

Lily thought for a moment. "Acid Pops?"

The gargoyles shifted so her guess was ultimately correct. They all made their way up the stairs and entered it only after Dumbledore had given them permission to come in. His eyes widened at the sight of the group. "So it appears that asking to speak to two turns into many more, but I suppose that is only because of the day's unfortunate events."

James nodded so Dumbledore continued, "Well, I must apologize in advance and say there isn't much more I can tell you at the moment. I have not received any names of the deceased either, but as soon as I do, I'm saddened to think that I may be contacting certain students. I can tell you that what was contained in the Evening Prophet is only a snippet. The damage was rather extensive. The muggles are calling it a gas explosion, considering the area where it occurred is now practically burnt to the ground."

Eveyone grimaced. Sirius looked over to him skeptically. "But we know who was involved, correct?"

Dumbledore surveyed him. "Yes. You are perhaps more aware than others, Mr. Black."

Sirius made a face. "Call me Sirius, Professor. That makes me sound old."

Dumbledore laughed. "And 'Professor Dumbledore' does not make me feel that way? Anyway, on to the matter to which this meeting was supposed to be about. James, I'm afraid that I'm going to have Lauren escorted to the Ministry on Saturday with Alastor Moody for her apparition test."

Lily squeezed his hand so he wouldn't do anything to protest. James just sighed, seeing as he had already figured that would happen. "That's fine, Sir." But then he turned to Lauren slightly, and Lily could see a sort of worried expression on his face. He spoke so fast that she or anyone else wouldn't have been able to decipher it, "Garder vos esprits de vous."

Lauren looked up at his hurried sentence, smiling slightly. "Ne pas soucier de moi, Jimmy."

James frowned. "Juste le faire sil vous plait."

Lauren patted him on his back to ease his worry, but turned her attention back to Dumbledore. "Where should I meet Moody?"

Dumbledore sighed. "He will be in my office around 9am on Saturday."

She nodded to him before turning back to the group exasperatedly. "See? Nothing pressing. Now, we can get back."

Everyone was heading back out of the office, but James lagged behind with Lily, seeing as he was still holding her hand. He turned to Dumbledore in a low voice, "Sir, do you have some time where you can meet with Lily for Occlumency?"

Dumbledore nodded and turned toward Lily with a smile. "I can meet with you on Fridays at 8pm, is that ok?"

Lily nodded so James turned the two of them to leave as well. He decided he would have to schedule some time with Dumbledore himself later so they could discuss the events further. Obviously, it wasn't going to be done tonight.

After a few days, the shock of the attack seemed to die down, but the fear it had created was still present within the castle. Lily remembered seeing a few students being pulled away from classes in tears the day after the news so she knew that they had lost family in the attack. While many people were killed, the majority of them appeared to be muggles rather than muggleborns. The thought that muggleborns had left their houses at the Dark Mark's presence hadn't been a lie. Those that hadn't been stuck in an anti-apparition ward had simply apparated away while those remaining Flooed away as quickly as possible. The muggles, however, had not been so lucky. Lily knew that if there was another attack, the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort would not be so kind in their approach, seeing as it didn't work out the way they had wanted it too.

It was also infuriating to read the Daily Prophet and see that the Ministry of Magic was being political in trying to promote the idea that the attack was a one time thing unlikely to ever occur again. The sad thing was that people were buying it when they should be more alert and take the attack as a warning of more to come. Voldemort did not appear to be a person who was just going to go away. If Lily could see it, she knew the Ministry could. The fact that they were playing with people by lying in the Prophet was not exactly reassuring. People trusted the Ministry, and it should be acting a little worthier of that trust. Lily understood that they didn't want to start a mass panic, but a general encouragement of wariness might be more appropriate than covering it up.

James had spoken with Dumbledore regarding everything, and it was suggested that he be more alert, carry his Invisibility Cloak at all times, and that no one outside of the group was to know they were going to Miami for Spring Break. Lily thought the people who knew about the trip were only in the group already, but James made a point to remind everyone not to mention it to others. It turned out that there were only a few extra people who knew like Dan, Christina, and Sophie, but no more were going to be added to that list.

Lily was now leaning on James and holding his hand as they were walking back to their common room after they had finished up with dinner. James had quidditch practice in a bit, and she was going to be doing homework or research in the library for a while. They were talking in hushed tones about Spring Break, which would be starting in a week's time when they were suddenly interrupted by a loud throat clearing. Both of their heads shot up quickly to look ahead of them to where the sound had come from. The presence of Severus Snape was definitely a surprise.

Severus frowned at seeing them appear to be so happy with one another, particularly the way he had seen Lily smiling at Potter. It seemed like only yesterday when Lily had been telling the prat to sod off. It made him even more hesitant to approach. He had been trying to find Lily alone for weeks now, but it was as if everywhere he turned, she was nowhere to be found or surgically attached to Potter. There was no way the two of them could have grown that close already so he decided to just seek her out. It had taken an unimaginable sense of courage to approach her when she was with him. Severus was not one to get within ten feet of Potter, but here he was— all for her. "I was wondering if I could speak with Lily." He paused before looking at James disdainfully. "Alone."

James' face was a stony mask, but he knew deep down that Lily could take care of herself, even if he didn't like it. It took all of his power to act calmly. At least Snape was trying to be polite; he supposed he could relay the same courtesy. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I'm going back to the common room and then probably will head to practice. You'll be ok, yes?"

When she nodded, he kissed her forehead before walking past Snape without so much as a word. Lily smiled at James as he walked away. She was incredibly proud of him for doing what he just did. If it had been last year, there was no way he would have been able to do that. She turned to Severus curiously. "What is it, Severus?"

Severus had been infuriated as he watched her smile radiantly at Potter as he left. He hadn't seen anything that he had done that would have been worth such a reward. He forced himself to calm down now that he had her alone— something he'd wanted for a long time now. "I, ummm, wanted to ask you about Potions."

Lily stepped toward him tentatively. "What about them? You're as good as I am in the subject. Why would you need my help?"

Severus' heart was pounding as she came nearer to him. He was starting to lose his train of thought. He thrust out a piece of parchment to her. "Well, I was working on this potion, but it doesn't exactly work as it should so I was wondering if you had any suggestions to tweak it."

Lily was confused. Severus was talking considerably fast. She took the parchment from him to look at it while saying, "You should have some good insights already."

Severus nodded dumbly while he watched her bright green eyes look over the ingredients. She looked up at him with a small smile. "A hangover potion?"

Severus loved having her smile at him like that. "Uhhh, yeah. Just because we're in Slytherin doesn't mean we don't let loose every once in a while."

She let out a small laugh, and his heart soared. She turned her gaze toward him as she pointed toward the parchment. "This is incredibly similar to the hangover potion James and Sirius came up with. What exactly are you having trouble with? It looks like it'll do the trick."

He tried to ignore her comment about the two people he loathed more than any others. He instead focused on her pretty smile. "It just doesn't work quickly enough."

Lily nodded and pointed to the sage derivative. Her look of concentration was adorable. "You should switch this to the ginger root. Both sage and ginger are great for reducing nausea, but James' use of the ginger root made the potion work instantaneously. It made the potion taste absolutely foul, but I messed with it a bit. The only flavor enhancer that seemed to work without reducing the potency was essence of wintergreen."

Severus again tried to ignore her mention of Potter. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of that himself. He supposed staring at Lily during Potions class didn't help. He frowned. "Oh, I see. Thanks."

Lily smiled. "You're welcome."

He knew she was probably going to head away so he continued somewhat rapidly, "Ummm, I have a few more potions that I've been messing around with. Do you think you could look them over some time?"

Lily looked back at him carefully. He was being rather odd. "Ummm, sure. Glad I could help with that one for you."

She said her goodbyes and went on her way, following in the direction he had seen Potter tromp off to. He watched her walk away, and couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face as she rounded the corner. She had smiled at him and agreed to see him again. He never thought he'd see the day where being courageous would actually pay off.

"So what did he want?"

Lily smiled over at James as they began their patrol for the evening. "Just some insight for a potion… Nothing serious, Mr. Potter."

James brought up their entwined hands to kiss the back of hers with a mischievous smile. "I didn't think it was serious. I just thought it was odd that he came up to you out of nowhere is all."

Lily frowned. "I wondered about that myself. He didn't exactly act like I've seen him act normally either. It was almost…nice. No name calling or anything. He actually cracked a joke."

James snickered. "So he _does_ have a sense of humor… I knew it. Sirius owes me a galleon."

Lily nudged him in the arm playfully. "Be nice."

James leaned down to kiss her on the lips gently, his hazel eyes shining into her green ones. "I am nice."

She pulled his arm to her so they were walking closer together and smiled up at him. "Only when you want to be."

James shrugged. "Perhaps."

They walked along together for a while, sending a stray student or three back to their dorm. They eventually got held up when they found two Ravenclaws doing things they shouldn't be doing in a broom closet. After about twenty minutes of exasperation with that, they began to be on their way for the rest of their rounds. James decided to break out the Marauder's Map and was pouring over it while Lily bitched about the fifth years they had just caught. "…I mean, it's a _broom closet_. What the hell can be so exciting or romantic about a broom closet? There are plenty of nicer things that couple could be doing. It's absolutely ridiculous."

James looked up from the Map, giving her an amused smile which did nothing to appease her frustration. "Shall I explain the draw from a male perspective?"

Lily looked at him like he was crazy for a second before he saw that challenging glint start to creep into her beautiful green eyes. "Oh, do tell. I'm sure it's _fascinating_."

James chuckled at her sarcasm before folding up the Map and pocketing it. He had to do this right, and he never backed down from a challenge. "Ok. Think about this logically. You're dating someone, and you want to snog, etc. The first option of doing so is in the House common room, which is VERY public, at least until about 11pm-12am. That means any private snogging time would best be between 12am-1am, give or take, in that location— unless you don't care who sees, but most girls do. Also, who wants to snog that late when they could snog earlier? Next, guys are not allowed in the girls' rooms in any of the Houses so that leaves the guys' rooms. All of the guys share rooms with the other guys of the year, usually about six guys max per room. That means if you wanted to have some privacy with your girl, you have to plan it with five other guys so they don't interrupt. That is rather impossible and irritating, particularly if the guy in question wants to do that often. This situation is worsened if the girl is from a different House because those two previous locations no longer even apply. If this is the case, the only locations for such private time is somewhere NOT in the House dorms. This leaves the grounds, broom closets, empty classrooms, empty hallways, etc. Right now, it's still a bit cold out after dinner so that eliminates the grounds. Also, since most, if not all, of the other males do not have an Invisibility Cloak like myself, this eliminates most locations past curfew. The only real option left is to hide in a broom closet, hoping you both aren't caught."

Lily was taking in all of his information in complete surprise. She blinked at him blankly. "Is it sad that I think you've given this way too much thought?"

James laughed. "No. Actually, I just repeated the lecture Sirius gave me every week last year. You have no idea how many times he tried to kick all of us out of our room. It was so annoying. Now, you know why there were times when we were all stuck in the common room without Sirius. He was…indisposed."

Lily humphed and rolled her eyes. "I suppose all of that information is true, but I still can't find the draw to a broom closet, being a girl and all, even if you liked the guy in question."

James looked around and suddenly smiled devilishly. "You've never been in one, have you?"

Lily looked at him indignantly for suggesting such a thing. "No, thank you very— James Potter! What in the…"

James had lifted her around her waist, pulling her close to him, before walking the both of them into a broom closet they had been passing. When he set her down in the cramped location, he immediately started waving his wand around doing various charms and whatnot. Lily went to reach for her wand only to discover it was no longer where she left it. James must've stolen it. She eyed him warily, as he pocketed his wand. "What do you think you're doing, James?"

He turned to her smiling wickedly, placing his hands on the wall just behind her on either side of her head. "Showing you that a broom closet can be a lot of fun."

Lily's pulse started racing when she saw the incredibly sexy look in his hazel eyes that she loved, clear as day, even in the dark. "James, that's—"

He cut her off by covering her lips with his own insistently. Lily pushed at him for a moment, but ultimately decided that snogging him was more fun. Her hands tightened in his shirt, pulling him closer to her. He was basically pushing her up against the wall, but she couldn't say she minded. Suddenly, the confined, tightly cramped space wasn't such a big deal; in fact, it was an excuse for them to be so close together. She really enjoyed it more than she thought she would.

James broke their kiss to slide his lips and tongue over her neck while he pushed back her school robe so his hands could run over her cute little body. His hands didn't hesitate to lift up her blouse a bit so he could touch her warm, soft skin. He wrapped his arms around her bare back, pulling her tightly against him. He loved snogging her, he loved teasing her, and he loved making love to her. Just thinking about her while she responded to him this way _made_ him want her.

Lily eventually brought his face back up to hers so she could continue snogging him. One of her hands slid around into his hair while the other unbuttoned his shirt. When he felt her hands run down his bare chest and around over his bare back, keeping him where he was, he ached to touch her body. He unbuttoned her blouse so he could pull her bare stomach against his. He ran his hands over her lacy white bra before sliding both of his hands up into her silky red hair to kiss her deeply. Lily's arms were still around his back, but she maneuvered him around a bit, turning him so _he_ was the one pushed up against the wall.

He groaned into her mouth, after feeling her pressed up against him in such a way. He brought one of his arms around her, holding her firmly in place. He didn't know how long they had been snogging, but soon he realized he had stepped forward slightly, pushing her against the opposite wall. He heard Lily's breath hitch as she broke their kiss. "James, we still have stuff to do. We can't do this here."

He grumbled into her neck, and she pulled his lips back over to meet hers in another passionate kiss. He felt her arms tighten around his neck so he wrapped his arms tightly around her petite frame, pulling her as close as he could to him. He eventually broke their kiss, and kissed her neck, still grumbling, "I hate it when you're right."

Lily giggled and looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "I didn't say we couldn't continue this later."

James grinned wickedly at her. "You're such a little minx."

Lily just nodded her head while she continued to smile flirtatiously at him, and he couldn't help but kiss her deeply again. He kissed her lips quickly one more time, mumbling against them, "I love you."

She smiled against his lips. "Hmmm, I love you too."

James reluctantly released his hold on her, and his eyes ran over her exposed body as she started to button her blouse back up. He was going to have fun unbuttoning that later. He quickly did his shirt back up too so they could go finish their rounds. He undid his charms and wards before they made their way out into the empty corridor. Lily had snatched back her wand and the Marauder's Map from his school robe without him even noticing. He supposed he was a tad preoccupied with his dirty thoughts. He grabbed her free hand so he could hold it. Lily squeezed his hand and looked over at him coyly. "I suppose broom closets aren't _so_ bad."

James chuckled. "I'm glad I was able to make your experience enjoyable, Lily love."

Lily smiled down into the Marauder's Map for a moment or so until he saw her face fall suddenly. James was concerned. "What is it?"

She rolled her eyes. Apparently, they were not going to get back to their dorm anytime soon. "Two more couples in broom closets on the third floor."

James sighed. He was also rather disappointed by the unexpected delay. "Lead the way."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

French Translation:

"Garder vos esprits de vous." – Keep your wits about you.

"Ne pas soucier de moi, Jimmy." – Don't worry about me, Jimmy.

"Juste le faire sil vous plait." – Just do it, please.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – Welcome to Miami

Lily sighed as she waited in the Entrance Hall for the Marauders. She and Lauren had been waiting for almost twenty minutes now. Tasha was supposed to be meeting them in Hogsmeade so they could all apparate back to Potter Manor together. Lauren looked over at her amusedly. "That's the fourth time you've sighed in the last five minutes, Lily."

Lily grumbled, but she managed a small smile. "Well, it was one for each of them then. James said he was going to help them pack, but I didn't realize it would take them all forever."

Lauren laughed. "It's Sirius. He probably never even started packing to go home."

Lily nodded knowingly. "It wouldn't surprise me. However, they should all be able to use the packing charm. It takes what? Five seconds?"

Lauren gave her a look. "You're kidding, right? I saw James attempt that charm once and his clothes all piled into his trunk like a hurricane went through all of his things. He has all the patience in the world for transfiguration, complex wards, powerful magic, and the like, but for everyday charms, he's hopeless. He's mastered a few that he uses regularly, but the only one I saw him actively practice was the one for correcting his vision so he can get away with not wearing his glasses every once in a while. Even then, it only lasts him a few hours at most— hence why he sticks with his glasses. Sirius has no patience in general so needless to say, I find he's rather hopeless at quite a bit."

Lily chuckled. "That's funny."

Lauren sighed and leaned against the wall with a smile. "I can't wait to go tomorrow. We'll be lying on an awesome beach, I'll be getting a great-looking tan, and there will be cute boys everywhere I look."

Lily looked over at her with a smirk. "You're completely boy-crazy."

Lauren cocked her eyebrow at her. "And you're not, Miss 'I'm Always With My Boyfriend?'"

Lily smiled at her. "I suppose you do have a point."

Lauren giggled. "I think you two are adorable. I hope I eventually meet someone I want to spend all my time with."

Lily sighed while she thought about James. "You will."

Lauren nodded, but then turned to her tentatively. "Do you know why I've always wanted to go to Miami? Did Jimmy ever mention it?"

Lily was curious. "I don't think so. I just remember the both of you always saying that you've always wanted to go."

Lauren sighed with a sad smile. "That's how my parents met. My Mum and Aunt Judy took a trip to Miami one year while they were in school. My Mum met my Dad there, and they continued corresponding and whatnot. After her graduation and a few trips back and forth later, my Dad moved out here to be with my Mum. They were married a year or so after Aunt Judy married Uncle Drew. She was always a step behind Aunt Judy, marrying second and having me after she had James, but my Mum always boasted about falling for my Dad before Aunt Judy fell for Uncle Drew. It was funny."

Lily watched Lauren quietly as she spoke about her parents. James never talked about them, probably because he didn't want to offend Lauren or bring up bad memories. "You must miss them a lot."

Lauren nodded a bit, but looked away with a small frown. "Yes and no. It happened when I was so young. I mean, I remember certain things about them, but Aunt Judy and Uncle Drew were great parents. Jimmy has always been there for me too." She shook her head, her face brightening. "Anyway, I've always wanted to go to Miami to see if something like finding my someone special out there could happen to me too. It's unlikely I know, but…"

Lily nudged her in the arm with a grin. "It's not unlikely, Lauren. And even if it doesn't happen, you can sure have fun testing out the hopefuls as you go along."

Lauren looked back at Lily shocked. "Don't let Jimmy hear you giving me that advice."

Lily gave her a look. "Lauren, I did _not_ mean that in the extremely dirty way you just took it."

Lauren giggled. "I wouldn't do THAT."

Lily nodded her head. "Good because if James ever found out you did that after knowing a guy for a day or two, he'd maim you."

Lauren sighed, lowering her voice as she looked around. "How long did you two wait?"

Lily looked around as well before eyeing her curiously. "I figured you knew. Valentine's Day."

Lauren giggled. "You did look overly beautiful that night, my dear. I should've known what you were up to. He wasn't a prat?"

Lily bit her lip to keep from smiling like an idiot as she remembered that night, and the many other fun nights the two of them had had since. "No. Not at all."

Lauren sighed dramatically. "Damn. No blackmail material."

Lily rolled her eyes and glared at her playfully. "James really is a gentleman, you know."

Lauren nodded, her eyes twinkling. "I know, but it's so fun to mess with him."

The two of them continued to giggle with one another for a bit before they finally heard a loud laugh that was distinctly Sirius. The group eventually rounded the corner as they came out of the corridor. Both girls immediately turned to them with unimpressed expressions for having to wait so damn long, but Sirius just held up his hands innocently. "I swear it wasn't me."

Remus pushed him, scoffing. "Are you kidding? We practically had to pack FOR you." He turned to the girls apologetically. "Sorry, ladies."

James rolled his eyes at Sirius before leaning down to pick up Lily's things. He turned to the rest of them, gesturing for the door. "Let's get a move on. The last set of carriages is supposed to be leaving in any minute. We're bound to be the last ones. Thanks soooo much for that, Padfoot."

Lily tried to grab some of her stuff back from James, but he insisted on holding everything for her. She eventually took his arm with a sigh. "So stubborn."

James looked down at her, smirking a bit. He leaned over to kiss her forehead and whispered into her ear, "You, Lily love, are the stubborn one."

The ride to Hogsmeade went rather quickly, and right after saying goodbye to Peter, they met up with an extremely bored Tasha sitting in front of the Three Broomsticks. She must've been in one of the first sets of carriages if she had already got there that quickly. She rolled her eyes at Sirius. "Took you long enough."

Sirius gave her puppy dog eyes. "How'd you know it was me?"

She gave him a look. "When isn't it?"

Sirius laughed. "Touché."

Both Lauren and James apparated to Potter Manor so James could show Lauren how to adjust the restrictions on Potter Manor. After a few minutes, James eventually apparated back by himself. "You guys can come along now."

Sirius nodded and immediately apparated away. James turned to Tasha curiously. "Have you passed your test yet? Do you need me to take you?"

Tasha sighed. "Yes and no."

And with that, she apparated away. Lily smiled at him cheekily. "Race you there."

James rolled his eyes, smiling, as he watched her apparate away. He gestured for Remus to go ahead before he apparated back home himself.

He helped Lauren close off apparition before looking back at everyone. "Ok. We're supposed to leave tomorrow at noon with the International portkey. Sirius, remember to be ready this time."

Remus frowned at him, before asking, "Do they know about me?"

James nodded reluctantly. "Unfortunately. It was a question on the form I had to fill out for the portkey. Since you're leaving before there's a problem, it shouldn't be a big deal. I made sure to put that information on there after I checked yes. I'm just hoping they don't give you a hard time when we arrive. I mean, everything was approved so there shouldn't be too big of a hassle."

They all looked at Remus sympathetically after James spoke. Lily felt awful at seeing Remus' face fall. This was supposed to be a fun week away, and he had to constantly worry about being treated differently everywhere he went; not to mention, have to look forward to a full moon transformation about every twenty-eight days. It really wasn't fair.

Everybody soon made their way up to the West Wing of the house. Remus piled into the first room on the right, across from Sirius; Lauren and Tasha both went into her room, giggling with one another. Lily, meanwhile, just followed James into his. He looked at her curiously. "I won't mind if you wanted to take your own room, Lils."

She just sighed as she sat on his bed. She watched him set down their things before looking up at him. "Nah. I'd just end up in here anyway. I like sleeping next to you. Besides, it feels weird sleeping alone now, in a good way."

He nodded at her words with a smile as he sat down next to her. He kissed her lips gently before laying back on his bed with a sigh. "I agree. I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable around everyone. I want you to be happy."

She shifted on the bed so she could look down at him as she sat. She cocked her head, smiling at him as she ran her fingers over his stomach. "I am happy. They all know anyway; well, maybe not Tasha, but she could probably figure it out. We have been dating for almost five months now, you know."

James grabbed her hand resting on his stomach in his own and began running his fingers over her palm while he looked at her. "I knew that. I suppose it makes no difference then."

Lily nodded, and when he met her beautiful green eyes once more, they were filled with excitement. "What do you want to do first?"

He smiled at her. She was adorable when she was excited like this. "I don't care. Swim, lounge around in the sunshine, shop, eat at restaurants, take walks, whatever you want. As long as I'm with you, I'm going to be happy."

Lily chuckled. "If you add taking me out dancing to that list, it's a deal."

James groaned playfully. "If you insist."

She hit him lightly in the stomach as she smiled at him. "I do. You just won't admit that you like dancing."

He sighed, conceding slightly. "I like dancing with you."

Lily observed him quietly. He had closed his eyes as he played with her fingers which were still resting on his stomach. She watched as his chest rose up and down steadily as he breathed. The weather had warmed up a bit so he was just wearing a dark blue t-shirt which showed off his muscular arms along with a pair of jeans. He had no idea how sexy he was sometimes. She knew that he knew he was good-looking, but the effect he could have on a female, particularly her, seemed to evade him. She was looking forward to this trip for many reasons, but she was especially happy that she was basically going to get to stare at his chest and stomach muscles all the time while they were on the beach. She knew he would probably say the same about her in her bikini though so she didn't feel that guilty. When she didn't reply for a while, he opened one of his eyes and found her staring at him. He cracked a smile. "What?"

She shrugged as she continued to look at him. "Nothing. I can't look at you?"

James could feel a blush start to creep up from the back of his neck. "You're the beautiful one. I should be staring at you. In fact, I do it all the time."

She chuckled. "I know you do. That doesn't mean I can't look at you. You're handsome."

He gave her a small smile, and brought her hand up to his lips to kiss it. "You're sweet."

She leaned over him a bit, feeling her heart flutter as he looked over her body. "I love you."

His hazel eyes immediately met her green ones, and one of his hands pushed some of her hair behind her ears. "I love you too."

She leaned down further to kiss him, keeping the kiss slow and delicate. He gently pulled her down so she was resting her weight comfortably on top of his chest. After a few seconds of kissing him, she pulled back slightly to look at him. She was quite comfortable while she was leaning on him so she remained where she was. "Thanks for letting me come on this trip with you."

James looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't want to go with anyone but you. Even Sirius."

Lily was slightly surprised. "This trip is for Lauren, I thought?"

James laughed. "Well, yes it is, but that doesn't mean we can't benefit from it too. Sirius will be basking in bikini-clad American girls while I get to bask in my beautiful girlfriend. Besides, you and I can both consider the trip an early birthday present if we wanted to. I'm still going to get you something though, although I haven't figured out what yet."

Lily gave him a look. "My birthday is still about a month away."

James nodded, his eyes twinkling. "I know that, but I have to plan out my present for you in advance. Mine's a week before yours."

Lily chuckled. "I knew that. You and the Marauders wouldn't let anybody forget about it last year."

James shrugged. "That was mainly Sirius. He's a little overzealous sometimes."

Lily rolled her eyes playfully. "You know you act like an overgrown kid when you're with him. I don't know who you're trying to fool."

"Is that so?"

Suddenly, James was tickling her sides, causing her to shriek and laugh as she tried to pull herself away from him. After a couple of minutes, Lily was out of breath and still giggling hysterically, but she had gotten James some too. He eventually pinned her a bit on his bed and looked down at her with a smile. "I win."

Lily pouted, but said defiantly, "I let you."

James' eyes were filled with amusement. "I'm sure that's exactly what happened."

Lily nodded, her eyes twinkling. "It was."

His eyes gazed over her entire face before he leaned down to kiss her. He nibbled at her lips a bit before he deepened the kiss with his tongue. He felt her fingers slide into his hair, but when a sudden crack filled the room, he pulled away from her abruptly. He turned around to see Reeny looking at him, almost cringing, while she rubbed her ear nervously. Her voice was even higher than usual. "Reeny did not means to disturb James."

James sighed as he pulled Lily up to a sitting position next to him. "It's ok, Reeny. Is dinner ready?"

Reeny nodded, still looking upset over disturbing him. Lily eyed the poor thing. She didn't want the elf to think she did anything wrong. "Reeny, you don't have to be upset, really."

Reeny looked over at her in surprise. "Miss Lily is too kind."

James chuckled over Lily's face at being called 'Miss Lily.' A pretty blush stained her cheeks, and she was looking anywhere but at him or the elf. He turned back to Reeny with a grin. "We'll be down in a minute. You can feel free to alert the others, ok?"

Reeny nodded and with a snap of her fingers, she was gone. He turned his attention back to Lily, who was shaking her head. She looked up at him and was not amused to see him smiling at her cheekily. "That was _not_ funny."

James chuckled. "Sure it was…Miss Lily."

Lily punched him in the arm, and he groaned before he started to laugh harder. Lily humphed and crossed her arms in front of her while he laughed at her. He eventually sobered up, pulling her into a hug and nuzzling her neck. "It's just how she and the other house elves address women. Lauren has tried to get them to stop, but they won't. It was hard enough for them to get used to the idea of not calling me Master James, but since it's an order, they do it even if they don't like it."

She sighed into his shoulder before lifting her head back up to look at him once more. "Then, I guess I'll have to not be surprised by it. So dinner?"

He kissed her lips quickly as he pulled the two of them up. He took her hand and led her out into the hallway. "Dinner it is."

"SIRIUS! I SWEAR TO GOD! IF YOU DON'T HURRY UP THIS INSTANT, YOU'LL BE LEFT BEHIND!"

James put his hands on top of Lauren's shoulders to calm her. "Whoa, killer. We still have five minutes."

Lauren rolled her eyes and humphed at him. "I hope he _does_ get left behind. Then, he'll be screwed while we all enjoy the sunshine."

James shook his head at her with a smile. "He would destroy the house, Lauren. We can't leave him behind."

Lily sighed dramatically. "Leave this to me."

James watched his incredibly beautiful girlfriend head up the stairs. He glanced over at Remus, raising his eyebrows a bit. Remus smiled gleefully and began a countdown, "5…4…3…2…"

"HOLY HELL, WOMAN! I'M COMING!"

Suddenly, they all heard someone barreling down the stairs at full speed. Sirius ran into the living room with his satchel on his shoulder, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Lauren, Tasha, Remus, and James were laughing at him hysterically when Lily walked calmly back into the room a few seconds later, looking quite satisfied. Sirius immediately backed away from her, holding his hands out in front of him, forming an X with his two pointer fingers. "Stay away. You're evil."

Lily chuckled at him. "No, I just know some _really_ amazing charms."

Lauren giggled. "Lily, I think we should talk."

Lily smiled wickedly. "An-y-time."

James wrapped his arms around Lily, kissing her cheek. "I can never thank you enough for your amazing magical prowess over Sirius."

Sirius scowled at the lot of them. "Shut it."

James looked at his watch before pulling over an old sneaker. "Hands on, people."

It took about a minute or so, but the sneaker suddenly turned blue. Lily felt the familiar pull at her navel for portkey travel, and they were immediately thrust through time and space. Almost instantaneously, they had arrived in an unfamiliar location with witches and wizards at various checkpoints. Lily would have landed incredibly hard on the ground had it not been for James hanging onto her. She had only traveled by portkey once before, but apparently, he had traveled by portkey way more often because he didn't seem to have any trouble landing on his feet. An uptight looking wizard gazed at the lot of them over a clipboard. "Potter and Black party. Please sign in and check your wands at the front desk. You are in the muggle Miami International Airport in a hidden area for magical arrivals. There is a door that can lead you to the muggle venue, but there are also apparition locations if you know where you'll be heading. Enjoy your stay in Miami. It's currently 81°F outside."

James frowned at the wizard when he noticed him eyeing Remus rather carefully. Obviously, they were going to have more problems than he had thought. He hoped nothing too severe. It wasn't right to treat him so differently. James took Lily's hand and followed the group to the front desk. Tasha and Lauren signed in first before stepping off to the side, looking out the airport window in awe over the muggle airplanes. Sirius stepped up all cockily while he flirted with one of the witches behind the desk; they barely checked over his wand before he was told that he could go. He immediately joined Lauren and Tasha, talking animatedly with them. James urged Lily to go ahead of him. She handed over her wand as she signed the piece of paper. One of the witches looked her over rudely before saying, "10 ¼ inches, willow, a female unicorn hair, correct?"

Lily nodded at her assessment. The witch eyed her more interestedly. "Quite a rare combination. Powerful wand."

James smirked. "For a powerful lady."

Lily gave James a pretty smile, but the witch just frowned and held out her hand for his wand. James handed it over as he signed in on the paper. The witch looked at him appraisingly. "11 inches, mahogany, dragon heartstring, is it?"

James also nodded as he took it back. As soon as it was back in his hands, it let out some scarlet and gold sparks. James shrugged sheepishly at the witch's surprise. "It sorta only likes me touching it."

The witch watched him curiously. "Also a powerful wand. You should get it checked if it does that though."

James nodded, but Lily was sure he wasn't going to do anything about it. She had personally used his wand successfully a couple of times before so she was sure there was more to whatever he was hiding about his wand than he was letting on. Remus came up behind James, looking more than a bit nervous. He handed over his wand and signed in quickly. He was standing there almost rigidly as she surveyed his wand. The witch didn't say anything, and instead, just looked up at him almost coldly. "Could you come with me please, Mr. Lupin?"

Remus practically deflated. James jumped in front of him before he could go with her. "Why does he have to go anywhere?"

The witch frowned, but could immediately see that the guy being a werewolf had no bearing on his friends. Both James and Lily were eyeing the witch in irritation while Remus looked embarrassed. Remus touched James' arm to calm him. "It's ok, James. I'll be right back." He turned to the witch. "Right?"

The witch nodded and looked a little less upset over everything. "There's just one extra step for you, Mr. Lupin. If you could follow me please."

About twenty minutes later, Remus came out from the back looking drained. All of them stood up, ready to make a fuss, but Remus put his hands up. "Just a lot of questions and a blood test. It's nothing I haven't had to go through for a general physical before. They also discussed my separate International portkey for Wednesday. It's going to drop me right at my house."

Sirius frowned. "Still, they shouldn't have treated you like they did."

The rest of them were nodding fervently. Remus sighed. "It happens everywhere, guys. They're just being cautious. They don't have many out here so they were especially concerned with me possibly being here during my time of the month is all."

James sighed and gestured for everyone to go to the apparition location. "Let's jumpstart our fun-filled week and forget about all of this."

When they made it over there, Sirius instantly held out his arms for both Lauren and Tasha, wiggling his eyebrows. "Ladies, let me guide you to paradise."

Lauren rolled her eyes while Tasha giggled a bit. Both of them locked arms with Sirius, and he winked back at James, Remus, and Lily before apparating away with the girls. Lily shook her head with a smile. "He's such a goof. The American girls are not going to know what's hit them. It's a shame that all girls are suckers for guys with foreign accents. He'll get girls without even really trying."

The boys laughed at her assessment. Lily was already holding James' hand so Remus placed his hand on James' shoulder so the three of them could follow. James immediately apparated them to the townhouse. As soon as they arrived, they heard the girls' shrieking and Sirius' loud laughter so they were sure they were in the right place. The townhouse was a huge white home with a large wraparound deck. There was a sandy beach right in front of them leading straight to the ocean. Lily admired some of the house's features upon entering the place. It had a large living room area with two couches, pillows, a TV, and more. The kitchen came right off of the living room area where there was an island countertop separating the two rooms. There was another room leading out to the deck near the stairwell. Sirius ran down the stairs just then, his grey eyes filled with excitement and mischief. "This place is fantastic! The girls claimed the far back room on the top floor. I claimed the first one up the stairs so when I bring a lady home, I don't have to go very far."

Lily rolled her eyes while the guys smirked. Remus shook his head at him. "Sirius, you are such a playwizard. I feel bad for all the un-suspecting American girls."

Sirius shrugged, smirking. "That's why you're coming with me. Your Mr. Sensitive act will help me woo the ladies."

Remus eyed him disapprovingly, but James just sighed. "Well, at least let us know if you bring home a muggle. We'll need to know if we need to limit our magic use. Send us a patronus at the house or something."

They all made their way upstairs and into their respective rooms to change. They were wearing clothes more appropriate for back home, which would not work in this weather. Remus grabbed the second room near Sirius while James and Lily went up to the top floor and took the room just off of the stairwell. James couldn't help but watch as Lily pulled her jumper over her head with her back to him as they changed in their room. She unsnapped her bra from behind, and he was literally staring. Lily didn't even look back at him when she suddenly said, "James, stop staring at me and change."

James guffawed. "How'd you know I was staring?"

She glanced back over her shoulder at him with a cheeky grin as she adjusted her green bikini top, pleased to catch him without a shirt on. "I just know."

James rolled his shoulders to rid himself of his dirty thoughts as he dug through his bag looking for his swimming shorts. There'd be plenty of time for that later. "You're beautiful. What can I say?"

She finished changing quickly before she hugged him from behind, leaving a kiss on his back. He merely continued looking through his magically expanded satchel, although she did feel one of his hands run over her forearms that were wrapped around him as he continued his fruitless search. She took pity on him, whipping out her wand. "Accio."

His swimming shorts flew into her hand, and she merely held them out for him. He took them from her hand with a sigh. He quickly changed into them and threw on a t-shirt. When he finally looked back at her, he whistled. "Wow. You look amazing."

Lily looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a short jean skirt with a white tube top over her emerald green bikini. She had pulled on a pair of sandals and was holding a pair of sunglasses. She shrugged with a smile. "I want a tan."

James chuckled and kissed her gently. "You'll be sure to get one. Let's go to one of the public beaches so I can show you off."

Lily rolled her eyes playfully. "How can I say no to that?"

They waited for Remus on the landing before they made their way downstairs to join Sirius and the girls. James looked over at Lauren, slightly concerned. "Do you have your necklace on?"

Lauren gave him a look. "What will it take for you not to worry about me, Jimmy?" He just kept staring at her in response so she rolled her eyes before she continued, "Yes, I have my necklace on."

James nodded. "Good."

Sirius punched him and whined at him, "Forget about that right now. The girls are calling for me, Prongs. We have to go."

Both Sirius and James apparated them all to a safe point close to one of the nearest public beaches. As soon as they made their way onto the very packed beach, they found a common spot to meet at before Sirius hastily dragged Remus with him to go chat up the ladies. Lauren and Tasha were giggling together and told James and Lily that they were going to walk around. Lily knew that they were really going to go boy watching. James turned to Lily inquisitively as the girls walked away. "I think we just got ditched."

Lily chuckled. "I think you're right."

The two of them laid out in the sunshine, chatting about everything. James enjoyed watching her lie around in her extremely tiny bikini more than anything else. They had both become quiet in their relaxation after a while, but that was all shot to hell when he was suddenly covered in cold water. James leapt to his feet spouting out a string of swear words before his annoyed gaze landed on two familiar giggling girls. "Ok. That's it."

Lauren and Tasha both shrieked and began running away as James tore after them. Lily had only gotten a little wet from the assault and leaned back on her arms giggling as she watched James catch up to Lauren quite easily, grab her around the waist, only to take her out to the ocean and throw her in. He began laughing outright at the horrified look on her face as she came back up out of the water sputtering. Lily couldn't help but smile at him. When he laughed, his whole face lit up. Lauren immediately started splashing him in retribution, but he had turned his attention to Tasha, who was still standing warily on the shore. He made sure she eventually got hers. It took him a few minutes, but he eventually came back over to her, utterly soaked from being in the water. She smirked at him. "Hey, sexy."

He smiled at her mischievously. "Hey, yourself. Are you going to go swimming with me, beautiful?"

She tilted her head, as she surveyed his body. "I think you could persuade me."

He offered her his hand, pulling her up to her feet. "Don't worry. I'll be kind to you and not throw you in. I can't promise about tomorrow though."

She smiled at him. "Oh, is that right?"

He leaned down and kissed her softly, his eyes twinkling. "It is."

Lily awoke gradually, but she whimpered slightly when the pain in her head seemed to increase exponentially as she regained consciousness. Her head was pounding as she struggled to remember everything from the night before. She remembered being at the beach for most of the day (they had spent practically all of their days thus far that way), going to dinner with their group and a few others, and then all of them had decided to go home where they would relax out on their own beach with a bonfire. She remembered changing into more comfortable clothes and laughing by the fire, but then it hit her. There had been firewhiskey and drinking games. She had been giggling for absolutely no reason for a while, and she remembered catching James staring at her with a goofy grin on his face, but that was about it. She opened her eyes tentatively, but immediately shut them at the bright light that was coming into the room. James must've brought her upstairs if she had fallen asleep, considering he was lying behind her with his arm around her and they were upstairs in their room.

She sighed and knew she would have to get up in order to stop the pounding going on in her head. She pulled on James' arm so she could slide away from him carefully. He also must've imbibed a bit too much, considering he didn't wake up as she crawled out of bed. The bright light of the room seemed to make her headache worse so she immediately started going through James' satchel despite its disastrous organization. After a few minutes, she found what she had been looking for— the hangover potion. She pulled out two vials, immediately taking one herself while she placed the other on the nightstand for James. Her headache seemed to dissipate almost instantaneously and she felt ten times better.

She knew what she needed. Her own trick to feeling better after a night of alcohol consisted of two things— coffee and chocolate. She stood up and grabbed her dressing gown, seeing as she was only in a white camisole and her knickers. James must've pulled off her pajama pants last night too, not in a dirty way, but just because he knew she hated sleeping with pants on. She didn't think either of them was probably in a state to be thinking about that sort of thing last night. Maybe this morning though…

She made her way downstairs into the kitchen as silently as possible. She was sure the rest of the household was also suffering from a bad hangover this morning. She started making coffee the muggle way, although she sped up the process with a little magic. She looked around the kitchen and found a couple chocolate frogs lying around, immediately opening one up for herself. She tossed a piece of chocolate in her mouth as she watched the coffee brew.

"Wow. You're up early."

She nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned around completely shocked with her wand out, and Remus' eyes widened as he held up his hands. "Sorry. I thought you heard me come down. Please don't hex me."

Lily was still recovering from being caught off guard. She lowered her wand and gave him a look. "Don't ever do that again."

Remus chuckled. "I'm sorry."

She looked him over, noticing he was fully dressed and looked well-kept, which was odd, seeing as she had watched him drink a lot last night too. "Why are you all dressed already?"

He sighed. "I have to go back today, remember? My International portkey is leaving in about fifteen minutes. I was just going to apparate away when I saw you and thought I should say goodbye. I figured everyone would still be asleep after last night."

She looked at him sadly. At least she had seen him have a lot of fun over the last few days. She remembered him chatting with a few different girls when they had gone out or had been down at the beach, but she could tell he was probably still smitten with Sophie since he didn't try all that hard. "You're right. I did forget. I'll make sure the guys know you said goodbye and that they were too hungover to care."

Remus rolled his eyes, smiling a bit. "You were pretty far gone yourself last night."

Lily just sighed, knowing he was teasing her. "I don't remember much besides giggling too much so I suppose I had fun."

Remus chuckled. "You fell asleep at some point. The rest of us continued for a while, but when we all decided to come inside, James carried you upstairs and never came back down."

Lily nodded because she had figured as much. "He's out cold right now. He normally wakes up when I get up, but not this morning."

Remus shrugged. "Well, I better get going. Tell everyone I said goodbye."

She gave him a quick hug. "Will do."

And with that, he apparated away. She turned her attention back to the coffee, pouring out two cups of it. She finished her chocolate frog before pocketing one for James and took the coffees back upstairs. As she entered their room quietly, she could see that James was still sleeping, but he had moved forward slightly so he was now lying on the edge of the bed. She set down the second cup of coffee on the nightstand along with the chocolate frog and pulled off her dressing gown before crawling up onto the bed to sit behind him with her cup of coffee. She admired his bare upper body a bit before reaching over to run her hand over his back as she sipped her coffee. "James? Time to get up, sweetheart."

He groaned a bit and suddenly the curtains on their windows were drawn closed. She giggled at his wandless magic use. "James, I pulled a potion out for you and brought you some coffee, but you have to get up to get them..."

James tried to focus as he listened to Lily's sweet voice, even if it was teasing him. His glasses weren't in front of him so he waved his hand so he would be able to see for a short while without them. He always tended to be able to use more wandless magic when he was annoyed. The pounding in his head was reaching new heights so he immediately reached out to grab the potion vial on the nightstand, downing it in one gulp. He couldn't thank Lily enough for making it taste better. His headache abated, and he sighed. "Thanks, beautiful."

Lily nodded, even though he hadn't turned around to look at her yet. She rubbed his back comfortingly a bit. "You're welcome."

He turned over eventually, sitting up as he grabbed the coffee sitting on the nightstand. He gave his beautiful girlfriend a once over. She was still wearing her white camisole and those fantastic green and white lacy knickers he had seen last night. When he had pulled her out of her pajama pants to make sure she slept comfortably, he had groaned softly to himself at seeing those. She had no idea what she did to him sometimes, especially since she had one hell of a collection of knickers. Her hair was still down, flowing around her all tousled and sexy, and her green eyes met his easily. She took a sip of her coffee before continuing, "Thanks for taking me upstairs last night."

He smiled slightly as he reached out to run his fingers through her silky red hair. "You're welcome. Have I mentioned how adorable you are when you're intoxicated?"

She blushed completely, and he smiled while he sipped his coffee. "You're horrible. I just giggled a whole heck of a lot."

He chuckled quietly. "I know, but I love to watch you laugh."

She shook her head at him, although she was smiling. "So what do you want to do today? Oh, and Remus left a few minutes ago. He said to tell everyone goodbye."

James frowned slightly. "I forgot about that. I hope everything goes alright for him since he's going to transform by himself when he gets back home. As for today, I'm not sure. We haven't done any shopping. We could do that."

Lily nodded. "Maybe…and you could finally take me dancing tonight."

She had her teasing grin firmly in place as he looked back over at her. He waved his hand at her words though. "Actually, I was told by some of the local guys Lauren and Tasha had met up with last night that tomorrow was the better night to go out. I was going to take you then. I could take you out to dinner though, just me and you for once."

Her eyes were sparkling at him while she handed him her cup of coffee to place on the nightstand since she had finished it. "Hmmm, I suppose that could be fun too."

He sipped his coffee, nodding. "Sirius has been rather taken with that witch we all met the other day so he'll probably be busy with her for the rest of the time here. Lauren and Tasha should be fine by themselves, even though I'd prefer they weren't alone. I know I would rather spend time with you when we were alone anyway."

She crept closer to him and kissed his lips gently. "Me too."

He ran his free hand over her back as she rested her head against him somewhat, and his thoughts began to drift dirtier as he noticed her cleavage directly in his eye line now that she was sitting closer to him. Not to mention, they were both sitting on their bed half-dressed. "So…"

She lifted her head once more and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to take a shower, and then we can head out, ok?"

He was so surprised by her pulling away from him that he momentarily stared after her as she slid herself down to stand up at the edge of their bed. It wasn't easy to pull his eyes away, considering her long legs, her sexy knickers, her perfect bum, and altogether perfect figure. She was walking towards their bathroom when he called out somewhat boldly, "May I join you?"

She stopped in the middle of the room to look back at him, her eyes twinkling. "I suppose you can help me scrub the places I can't reach."

And with that, she kept walking towards the bathroom, pulling her camisole over her head as she walked, leaving him staring after her amazing body in nothing but those knickers and a white lacy bra. He immediately scrambled out of the bed to join her in the bathroom. He was determined to make sure the both of them had one heck of a great morning.

The two of them eventually left their bathroom and bedroom so they could make their way out to explore some of Miami, but only after they both had thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They walked through a few muggle shops, but ultimately decided to just ask someone about finding some of the more magical locations. It was surprisingly easier than they had thought to tell the difference between witches or wizards and the muggles. Neither one of them could explain how they could tell, but they just could. The couple they eventually asked looked surprised that the two of them had known they were magical, but helped them to a more magical area nonetheless. James led Lily into a pub similar to the Leaky Cauldron where they were able to reach the more magical side of Miami. Some of the shops were similar to back home, but there were a lot more clothing shops compared with book or school-oriented shops. When they asked about this, some of the locals mentioned that there wasn't a school in the area and the place centered around tourism. The closest wizarding school was actually located in Richmond, Virginia, and that it was one of four schools in the country, with the other three being in Salem, Massachusetts, Los Angeles, California, and Chicago, Illinois. Lily was surprised that such a large country would only have four schools, but James reminded her that there was only one per country, if that, back in Europe.

James insisted that she shouldn't spend any of her money, but Lily didn't like it. She felt guilty when he spent money on her. It was bad enough that he and Sirius had flat out refused to let any of them spend money for food and whatnot for the whole trip, but if she was going to buy a souvenir of some kind, she could pay for it. She knew deep down that he just wanted her to save her money and that he could more than afford it, but she wasn't with him because he was loaded. She eventually won the battle of wills, purchasing a few things for herself and some people back home. James picked out some things too, especially some unique items from one of the joke shops they had been in. She merely shook her head, knowing that once they went back to school, the Marauders would be causing mayhem using some of the new items. She didn't understand how some of them would come in handy, but she knew that both James and Sirius were creative enough to find a use. In fact, if James' knowing smile was anything to go by, he already had more than a few ideas.

The two of them ate some lunch before they decided to just head to the beach. They spent their time swimming and lying out in the sunshine. They did spot Lauren and Tasha once, but they were with a bunch of people. James was going to go over there when he noticed a bunch of the guys blatantly flirting with the two girls, but Lily gently pointed out that Lauren and Tasha were also flirting with them and they could take care of themselves. When they were both officially sunshined out and slightly hungry for dinner, James apparated them back to the townhouse to change and get ready to go out to dinner together.

Lily plopped down onto one of the couches and rubbed her calves. "We did a lot of walking today."

James sat down beside her with a sigh. "Yes, we did." But then, he looked down at his legs and groaned. "Crap, I'm getting weird tan lines."

Lily watched as he peeled back his shorts to reveal more of his lighter skin while he tapped his wand to it and it suddenly became just as tan as the rest of his legs. Her eyes' widened. She was shocked as she looked over at him. "You know a tanning charm? How is it that you, of all people, know a charm that I don't?"

He laughed and looked back at her amused. "You really don't know it? I thought it was a female must have?"

She gave him a look. "If you haven't noticed, I'm normally pretty pale-skinned."

He was still grinning at her wickedly. "Oh, of course I noticed. I like that about you."

And then, he looked over her entire body, reveling in the fact that she was only wearing a pair of jean shorts over her emerald green bikini. Lily practically shivered under his gaze as he crept closer to her, with that same devilish smile of his. "You've developed a bit of a tan too so let me see if you have any tan lines I can fix."

She leaned backwards away from him slightly, her heart beating faster. He was being incredibly sexy at the moment. "James, I can do it myself, you know."

He just chuckled, practically lying on top of her now. "I know, but I figured I'd have more fun doing it for you."

He didn't give her any chance to reply as he lowered his lips onto hers. Her hands went to his bare chest on their own accord. She felt one of his hands run over the front of her body as he kissed her. His hand stopped and pulled back a portion of her bikini top near one of her breasts as his lips mumbled against hers, "Tergum abeo."

When his wand touched the area he had exposed, she felt the area warm slightly. He repeated his actions with her other breast, and then his hand slid lower towards the front of her shorts, grazing over her flat stomach softly as his lips continued to tease her. She shivered as his fingers gently ran along the inside of her shorts and bikini bottoms. When he mumbled the phrase a third and final time, she felt her bum among other things warm slightly from the spell.

She was not surprised to be turned on by his actions so she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him down to lie more comfortably on top of her now that he was finished with his tan line corrections. He needed no more encouragement and continued to snog her senseless. At some point, he slid his lips to the side, kissing and licking down the side of her neck, and that's when she noticed that he must've apparated the two of them upstairs where they could guarantee their actions would not be walked in on. She could feel his fingers fumbling with the ties on her bikini top when there was a sudden flash of fire in the room, startling them both considerably.

James practically leapt off of her with his wand out, and Lily had gasped in surprise, also gripping her wand that she had pulled out from her magically-enlarged back pocket. James' wand lowered instantly when he saw a burnt orange feather falling slowly through the air, although his brow furrowed at the sight. Lily sat up next to him, touching his arm gently, as he continued to stare at the feather now lying on the edge of the bed. "What is it?"

James' face was stony. "It's a message from Dumbledore. That was Fawkes."

Lily was confused how a feather could be a message, but as soon as James reached out to touch it, it transformed into a piece of parchment. He didn't make an effort to hide the message so she read it along with him as he held it out in front of him.

_James (and Lily, as I'm sure you're nearby) – _

_I have unfortunately encountered some news that your trip to Miami may not have been as secret as we had planned. I'm positive neither of you have been concerned with witches or wizards who may have been watching you up until this point, but I'm now suggesting that it would be prudent for both of you to become aware that it is and has been a real possibility. James, I'm afraid it would be in your best interest to take some precautions to hide your identity, and consequently, your friends' identities as well— particularly Lily's and Lauren's. They are both a dead giveaway to you. I do not wish to ask you to come home early, but if you do plan on staying, such actions should be taken if you wish to remain safe._

_I'm unsure how this information could have leaked out, as I'm sure you both have the utmost confidence in your friends. Perhaps talking too much on someone's part while not in private may have allowed someone unfriendly to become aware of the trip. I'm looking into what could have been a possible source._

_I truly am sorry about the inconvenience, particularly if I'm wrong. I shall meet with you at Potter Manor when you are due to come in._

_GAD_

Lily looked over at James, shocked. "Could he be wrong? I don't remember being watched outright, do you?"

James was mulling everything over in his head as he sighed. "It's more than possible. There have been a ton of people around all of us, considering we've been in public locations for practically the whole trip. They could have polyjuiced anyone to blend in with the locals. And no, I don't think he's wrong. Even if this is a guess, his guesses almost always turn out to be right."

Lily looked over at him, concerned. "Now that I'm thinking about it, I can think of a few times that we've had people looking at the two of us over the last few days. Nothing bad, at least, that's what I had thought at the time. I do have natural red hair, which is unusual and eye-catching."

James nodded, meeting her worried gaze. "I can think of a few instances too."

She frowned. "What are we going to do then?"

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lips gently, trying to help ease her discomfort. However, her troubled expression didn't disappear entirely. "Well, I don't want to go home unless we have to. I'm thinking some human transfiguration is in order. I'll have to help the girls transfigure themselves a bit tomorrow, and I'll mention the danger to Sirius. We've all been apparating to the townhouse so I don't think they know where we're staying at least. I'll set up a few basic wards just in case though."

Lily relaxed slightly. "So that's it?"

James nodded and looked at her curiously, his eyes mischievous. "Yup. So do you want to be a blonde or a brunette?"


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Trouble in Paradise

Lauren frowned as she headed downstairs with Tasha. When the both of them had arrived home late last night after having some local guys take them out for a night on the town, she had been rather surprised to have a stag patronus waiting for her in their room. Before it disappeared, James' voice rang out in the room, "Lauren, I have to talk to you both so come see me downstairs tomorrow morning before you take off."

Now, it had been rather late so she knew it would have been ridiculous to attempt to see him in his room last night. There were some things she didn't want to see, especially since she already knew what he and Lily may or may not be doing in there. However, his cryptic message didn't allow her to get the best of sleep. She was worried, but about what, she didn't know.

When she and Tasha walked into the living room area together, she spotted a dark brown-haired girl in the kitchen making some sandwiches. Her brow furrowed. "Oh, I'm sorry— we haven't met yet. Are you here with Sirius?"

The girl turned around with a sigh and rolled her dark brown eyes at her words. Lauren could tell there was something familiar about her, but she couldn't quite place it. Had they met her earlier in the week? She looked to Tasha for help, but she, too, looked to be at a loss. The girl looked over both of their reactions a bit before smiling. "Good, you're clueless. It's Lily."

Their mouths both dropped open in shock. Lauren eyed her critically and then looked at the stairwell disapprovingly, knowing that James must be upstairs still. "Ummm, is this one of those kinky sex ideas you guys are trying out because I really didn't want to know about that sort of thing…"

Lily's dark brown eyes glared at her while her face looked disgusted. "Ewww, Lauren. NO."

Tasha started giggling so both girls turned to her, both equally confused as to why she would be laughing right now— one disgusted with the thought of James and Lily having sex in general while the other disgusted to think that someone thought the two of them would use transfiguration as a way to spice up their already great sex life. Tasha just shrugged innocently. "What? That was funny."

Lauren shook her head at her best mate before turning back to Lily the brunette. "Ok, so what's going on?"

Lily sighed when she thought about everything that might be going on around all of them. "We received a message last night that our trip may have been announced to unfriendly people. It was suggested that we don't act like we're here at all if we wish to stay. James should be almost done talking with Sirius. He was going to transfigure you girls so you look different. I hope you girls weren't planning on meeting up with people who know who you are and what you look like…"

Tasha frowned. "We were going to meet up with those guys from last night. This sucks."

Lauren didn't say anything. She knew that Lily wasn't being specific about this warning because of Tasha's presence. However, if it was serious enough for Lily and James to change their appearances, this wasn't good. Dumbledore must've contacted James about something. A male came down the stairs just then. Lauren could tell it was James only because of his watch. He had transfigured his hair so his head was shaved, changed his eyes to blue, and must've had Lily do the vision correction charm since he was not wearing his glasses. Lauren looked at him critically. He must've changed some other facial features too since she couldn't see James when she looked at him, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what he had changed.

James sighed when he noticed Lauren looking at him seriously as she fingered her necklace while Tasha looked a little miffed about the whole thing. "Sorry about this, ladies. Sirius refuses to change himself, no matter what I say, all because he wants to hang out with that blonde witch again. However, I don't think I can allow you both to act as stupid as he is being."

Tasha looked like she might protest, but since Lauren hadn't said anything about it and was probably going to go along with him, she figured the two of them could start fresh somewhere else, meeting new boys. "I guess."

Lauren nodded. "We get it, Jimmy. Transfigure away."

James looked them both over. "So what do you want?"

Lauren smiled wickedly. "Bigger boobs."

James' face looked horrified while Lily and Tasha burst out laughing. James sighed dramatically at Lauren's awful teasing. "I'm not giving you bigger boobs, Lauren. You either, Tasha."

Lauren giggled. "That's ok. I was just kidding. I don't care really."

Tasha nodded similarly to her words so James rolled his eyes. "It's easier when you give me a suggestion to work with here…"

Tasha shrugged. "Well, I have light brown hair so make me a blonde, I guess…or something..."

He pulled his wand out, waving it around expertly. He changed her hair to a white blonde, changed her eyes from brown to hazel, adjusted her nose, chin, and cheekbones a bit, and then asked, "What color do you want me to change your swimsuit to? It has to change too."

Tasha looked down at her dark blue bikini underneath her clothes, but Lauren was looking at her critically. "Change her swimsuit to forest green, Jimmy. Like my dress from Valentine's Day."

He did as she suggested before turning his complete attention to Lauren. "So?"

Lauren shrugged. "Surprise me."

James rolled his eyes. He waved his wand around after thinking for a moment, changing her eyes to a blue like his own, darkening her hair so it was raven-colored like his own, and then adjusted her chin, nose, and cheekbones a bit as well. He changed her red bikini to the ocean blue of her eyes. He sighed, shrugging. "There. Now, you look like my twin sister. Lily and I were thinking of going to a different beach today, but if we ever meet up with you, it gives us a back-story."

Lauren nodded. "Fine by me. Are we changing our names too?"

James frowned. "I didn't think about that, but we probably should."

Lauren shrugged, waving her hand carelessly. "I'll be Laura then. Easy to remember."

Tasha's brow furrowed. "I'll be…Tiffany."

James nodded. "I'll just be Jay."

Lily sighed, looking frustrated by their choices because they were all a derivative of or similar to their actual name in some way. "Well, I'm not being Rose."

Lauren giggled at her as she looked her up and down. "Well, you sort of look like a Megan to me…"

Lily rolled her eyes playfully. "Fine. I'll be Megan."

Lauren turned to James, still concerned. "Can you tell us a little more about this threat?"

James gave her a look because he couldn't say all that much in front of Tasha. "Just that we might have witches or wizards who may be watching us. Now that we look different, have different names, and whatnot, maybe it won't be that big a deal. Just be mindful if people are watching you and be careful with whom you meet up with. If they're claiming to be locals, ask them about something in the area and see how much they know. Be inquisitive and observant. If you have any problems, Lauren, you know how to contact me."

Lauren nodded and pulled Tasha with her. "Alright, Jimmy. We'll be careful, I promise."

James said goodbye to the girls and watched them apparate away before turning his attention back to his incredibly beautiful girlfriend, who was now a brunette. He looked her over a bit before saying, "Is it weird for me to feel like I'm cheating on you by wanting to kiss you right now?"

She giggled. "It's still my body you just checked out. Just my face and hair are different, but yeah, it feels weird for me too."

She wound her arms up around his neck and kissed him gently, feeling his arms snake around her back to pull her closer to him. He looked down at her curiously. "So besides dancing tonight, we were going to a different beach for the day with a picnic lunch, am I right?"

She nodded, her dark brown eyes sparkling. "Hell yes. I get to wear red for the first time in my life. I might as well show it off."

James smiled down at her, admiring what he could see of the same bikini he had been staring at all week, although the color had changed from green to a deep red. "Well, then I can't wait to stare at you all day in it."

She giggled into his neck before kissing it quickly and heading back over to finish up their sandwiches for their picnic lunch. Hopefully, this threat wouldn't be such a big deal, and the two of them would still have a good time before they went home tomorrow. "Sounds like fun."

James nodded, letting her go and helping her start to pack up some things she had already finished. He glanced over at her with a wicked smile. "You bet."

"Are they still watching us?"

James buried his head into Lily's hair with a sigh at her worried question. Their day had been ok until that afternoon. The two of them had been lying out in the sunshine after their picnic lunch, and he had spotted two clearly magical men watching the two of them more closely than necessary. The two men weren't familiar by any means, but from that moment on, they were always around him and Lily. James remembered seeing the two wizards walking around aimlessly during the morning, looking about, but some time after he and Lily had eaten their lunch, it was as if they had started watching them like hawks. He could only conclude that he and Lily must've done something to make them think they were magical or they had slipped up with some random body language that suggested that they were who they really were instead of whom they were pretending to be. Since the two of them hadn't done any magic out in public, James had no idea what must've triggered their incessant following.

He and Lily tried to confirm and make it blatantly obvious the two men were following them without them noticing that he and Lily had discovered them. They didn't want to think they were blowing the attention out of proportion. So, as soon as they thought they were being watched, they immediately started taking a long, slow walk on the beach together. When the two men disappeared for a while and then seemed to resurface about a quarter mile down the beach when he and Lily eventually walked past, the both of them knew the two wizards had cheated and apparated to keep tabs on them. This was the confirmation he and Lily needed to assume the worst.

The two of them went out to a late dinner, hoping that would bore them, only to find when they left the restaurant two hours later that the two wizards were waiting across the street. Now, they had finally reached the dance club he had planned on taking her to using conjured muggle IDs, and the two men had entered the club shortly after the two of them had gotten in. Both of the men weren't dancing and had been nursing their same drink for the last hour. Annoyingly enough, one or both of them could be caught looking at the two of them occasionally. This was not good. How was James supposed to apparate the two of them back home safely if they were being tailed? It was clear since the two men hadn't done anything to them, they must be looking for where everyone was staying so they all could be ambushed together at a better time. There was no way the two wizards were going to find the townhouse if he could help it.

Lily's fingers gently rubbing the nape of his neck brought him out of his dismal thoughts to finally answer her question. "I don't know, baby."

He couldn't call her Megan. It was too weird so he had substituted a pet name for her earlier in the day instead. Lily didn't seem to mind. When he met her dark brown eyes, he could see the concern still radiating out of them so he ran a hand over the side of her face and continued, "Don't worry. We'll figure something out, ok? You trust me, right?"

She nodded as she turned her gaze out onto the dance floor, taking a sip of her drink. Lily was currently sitting on his lap as they sat on a bar stool near one of the cocktail tables of the club. He pushed aside some of her dark brown hair so he could kiss the side of her neck to soothe her, his arm around her waist tightening a bit. They had been dancing for a while, but he had felt Lily tensing up over the situation so he brought her off to the side where they could relax from the two men's prying eyes, if only for a little while. He had gotten the both of them a couple of muggle drinks; it was a good thing they had sampled muggle alcohol over the last week so they knew what they liked.

Lily sighed. She turned and nuzzled her head into James' neck, inhaling his scent. It was remarkably calming. She felt him run his hand over her back gently as he surveyed the room. She couldn't help but relax a bit by his presence and his touch. She brought her lips up to his ear, "I love you."

His blue eyes met hers as he smiled at her. She loved his smile. "I love you too." He kissed her lips gently before continuing, "You want to go dance some more?"

She sighed and finished the last sip of her drink, nodding. He kept his hands on her hips, keeping her close to him as he let her lead the two of them back out onto the dance floor. The dance club the local guys had suggested to him was rather good. It had a live band that fluctuated between fast and slow songs, and not to mention, was actually pretty good to listen to. It was just too bad they couldn't enjoy it properly. He supposed he would look into finding a similar place back in muggle London to take her to instead.

Lily stopped walking once they reached the middle of the dance floor so they could blend in with the many people out on the floor. She turned in his arms so she was facing him once again, letting her hands run up his chest to loosely relax around his neck. He tightened his arms around her, pulling her petite body up against his own. He rested his hands just above her bum as he swayed the two of them to the beat of the music. He couldn't help but glance inconspicuously at the two wizards in the corner and was disappointed when one of them was looking their way. The man didn't watch them long, but the fact of the matter was that he was watching them in the first place. It annoyed him and made him angry. He needed to figure out a way to get the two of them out of the club safely without a chance they might be followed. It was kind of early to go home, but if he could get them out of there, he would. His perusal of some of the other couples on the dance floor was starting to give him a possible idea…

Lily's voice broke him from his thoughts as she whispered in his ear, "What are you thinking about? We just need to figure out an excuse to leave."

He smiled to himself as he rubbed her back. Even when he didn't look like himself, Lily could still read him better than anyone else and knew exactly what he was thinking. His lips found her ear, "I have an idea I'd like to confirm— I think anyway. But I need my wand, and it's in my back pocket."

Lily shook her head just slightly, tightening her arms around his neck. Her soft breath near his ear was driving him quite mad. "You're going to have to use mine. It's in my back pocket, and your hands are already right there."

He nuzzled her neck a bit, nodding slightly into her shoulder. He had never used her wand before, but he was sure it would be fine for him while he used Leglimency on a few American muggles. He was quite happy that magic use against muggles was not a big deal here in America so no one would be the wiser about his actions at the moment. His eyes strayed over to the two wizards, and he was pleased that they weren't watching them that closely. He supposed the two of them being draped over each other like they were was annoying to watch. That's why he didn't mind doing it so much for the time being. He normally wasn't so touchy feely in public and preferred that sort of activity to be behind closed doors. He was really only being this affectionate in public to comfort her and keep her near him, but it was particularly satisfying to know that the PDA was annoying their stalkers.

He let his hands slide from her lower back down to her bum where he slid his fingers into both of the pockets of her jean skirt. He couldn't help copping a feel, and he chuckled into her neck when she smacked him gently on the back of his head. He felt her wand in her right pocket which had obviously been magically expanded, and once his fingers had grasped it just enough to pull it out carefully, he mumbled the eye aversion charm, the closest charm to render something invisible, as he slid his hands up her back again. The wand slid out with his hands, and he could see from over her shoulder that the charm had worked as no one around was the wiser to him holding a wand of any kind. He quickly began using minor Leglimency on a few of the close muggle males around him, as carefully and innocently as possible. Sure enough, his theory was confirmed.

He lowered the wand back into her back pocket, undoing his charm. He moved his arms around so he had one arm resting around her back while the other pulled her dark hair off of her shoulder, exposing her neck in front of him. As he ran his fingers through her hair, he felt her shiver a bit. She looked up into his eyes expectantly. "So?"

He leaned in close to her, and his lips found her ear, "Theory confirmed. I apologize in advance, but there appears to be only one reason why a couple would leave a club early."

Lily was just about to ask him what the reason was, but then she felt James' lips start to dance down the side of her neck, which he had exposed when he had played with her hair. She needed no other response than that. Clearly, making others think they were going to leave to have sex was the only way out of there. She wasn't really having a problem with this at the moment, considering he now had all of her attention. Her breath hitched as he continued, and she tightened her fingers in his t-shirt near his neck. He had to know this was driving her crazy. She felt one of his hands slide beneath her camisole, touching the warm skin of her lower back. She sighed softly at his touch, but he must've heard her because his grip on her body tightened and any space between them was reduced to nothing.

James snuck a peak at the two wizards, and both of them were watching the display interestedly. As he kissed back up her neck, he let his tongue slide up toward her ear, which he nibbled on a bit, before he turned his attention to Lily's amazing lips. Lily had no problem kissing him back. He let his hands slide down to either side of her hips, letting his fingers slip down inside of her skirt a bit. He was definitely enjoying this whole act way too much, and he was sure they had done enough of a showing of exactly what they were leaving to go do somewhere in private so he broke their kiss and placed his breathless lips near her ear once more, "When I stop talking to you, just nod back at me. We're leaving, sweetheart."

James pulled back to look at her, and she nodded up at him so he took her hand, keeping his other arm around her waist as they walked to the door. He could see out of the corner of his eye that the two men were also moving to leave quickly. He got a sudden burst of inspiration when he saw a muggle taxi out front. He opened the taxi door for Lily before saying to the taxi driver rather loudly and with as little a British accent as possible, "The Laguna Resort."

Before Lily could question him at all, he slid into the taxi with her and pulled her onto his lap so he could resume their passionate snogging, tangling one of his hands into her dark hair. The two men had been really close so they probably heard everything and were watching them as they drove away. They would likely apparate to the hotel to confirm the destination, but they wouldn't follow them past the elevator knowing what they were planning on doing upstairs. He was pretty sure the two wizards were confused and didn't think they were magical anymore. He broke their kiss after they'd been driving a bit, nuzzling her neck and inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. He really wanted her right now, but he felt bad for being so obvious like that in public; it wasn't his style. He waved his hand, thinking _Muffliato_, before whispering, "Again, I'm sorry about that."

She merely nodded. Lily didn't really need him to apologize because it's not like she hadn't enjoyed it, even if it was more public than either of them tended to like. At least it had been in front of strangers rather than friends they would have to talk with later. She kissed the side of his neck softly before whispering back to him, "You don't need to be sorry. Why the Laguna Resort?"

He ran his fingers through her silky hair, which hadn't changed textures even if it was now dark brown. He sighed, whispering in her ear and keeping her close to him, "We're going to walk in and get on the elevator. They don't look like they're going to follow us any further than that. I don't think they think we're magical anymore. Plus, as much as I enjoyed all that, you know I would prefer not to do that type of thing in public. If they are Death Eaters and know about your and my tendencies from some of the wonderful Slytherins we go to school with, this behavior will appear very off character."

He watched Lily nod at his words, but he was really paying more attention to her fingers running up and down his chest slowly. It was quite distracting. She kissed his lips gently and then began to place a few slow kisses on his neck, leaving a slightly wet trail all the way up to his ear. James fisted his hands into her camisole at her actions. He lowered his head onto her shoulder, trying to think of anything but what she was doing to his insides, but he only ended up being overwhelmed by how great she smelled, how soft her skin was, and how much he wanted her. Her fingers, now running slowly over his stomach muscles, even through his t-shirt, were starting to get to him. It was almost a relief when he noticed the taxi driver attempting to speak to him. It was taking all of his willpower not to throw Lily down in the backseat. He waved his hand slightly, eliminating the _Muffliato_ spell, to hear the tail end of his words, "…will be $15.75, Sir."

He reached into his back pocket quickly, handing him a $20 bill before pulling Lily out of the car with him, saying, "Keep the change."

He shut the door and pulled Lily along carefully, walking them both through the revolving door together; he could see a familiar shadow to his left, but his attention was really on his girlfriend's amazing body. He made a point not to keep his hands to himself. This wasn't difficult, considering the whole thing wasn't much of an act anymore. As they were waiting for the elevator, he stood behind her with his hands on her hips comfortably as he slowly kissed her shoulder. When the doors finally opened, he led her inside of the elevator, grabbing her arm to effectively turn her around to face him so he could push her against the wall of the elevator to kiss her deeply. As soon as the doors closed, he broke their kiss despite his intense desire to do otherwise. Lily's dark brown eyes were staring up at him sexily, and it was all he could do not to make love to her right there. He tore his eyes away from her, and upon seeing there was no muggle video camera in the elevator, he turned back to her. "Did you see them?"

Lily nodded, still staring at him while her hands were resting on his chest. "They were there and looked confused. They saw it all."

James couldn't pull his eyes away from her as she licked her lips slightly. He shook his head to rid him of his horrendously dirty thoughts and took the second to apparate the two of them back to the townhouse before the elevator opened again. As soon as they were in the comforts of their room, he hugged her to him, nuzzling her neck a bit. "I'm sorry about all that. You know I don't like to do that sort of thing in public."

Lily pulled back from him so she could look into his eyes as she ran a hand over his face. "James, I know that. The point was to get out without being followed, which we did. You don't have to be sorry." She paused briefly before smiling at him teasingly. "Besides, now that we're alone, you can finish what you started…"

He grinned at her wickedly. "If that's what the lady wants…"

Lily nodded seductively, and James didn't hesitate to let his lips cover hers. One of his arms continued to hold her tightly, but the other reached into his back pocket for his wand, which he immediately waved around a few times. Besides dulling the noise they were about to make and locking their door, he also canceled their transfigurations and charms, except for the one for his vision. He pulled back from her a little, and he groaned softly at finally looking into her beautiful green eyes and seeing her gorgeous red tresses once more. He mumbled against her lips, "I love you, beautiful."

Lily was happy to see him with his hazel eyes and enjoyed getting to bury her fingers in his messy dark hair. She didn't realize how much she missed doing that until she got to do it again. She pulled his lips against hers for a moment before whispering, "I love you too."

He resumed kissing her thoroughly as his hands slid down her back. When his hands slid back up, he made sure to take her camisole with them. Lily broke their kiss, allowing him to pull it over her head, before her lips were firmly attached to his once more. One of her hands grabbed his t-shirt in the middle of his chest while the other fished out her wand from the back pocket of her jean skirt. She waved her wand at herself once before dropping it while she pulled him towards her as she walked backwards, essentially pulling them both towards their bed.

James had no problem falling onto the bed with her. Her arms were around his neck while his hands skimmed over her upper body. He felt her hands pull up his shirt over the back of his head so he let her pull it off of him. Her lips and tongue began trailing down the side of his neck and shoulder while he let one of his hands skim up her short skirt. She moaned softly into his neck when he felt inside of her bikini bottoms. James had to bite back a loud groan himself at finding her already wet for him. His want for her seemed to quadruple. He teased her with his fingers, and she pulled his lips over to hers, kissing him like she couldn't get enough of him. Feeling her body squirm beneath him and listening to her breath hitch as he kissed her was making him lose all coherent thought rather quickly.

Lily was in heaven. He made her feel incredible; in fact, he insisted on it. He had blocked one of her hands from attempting to return the favor, instead preferring to tease the hell out of her. He suddenly stopped his assault on her senses after a few minutes of torturous bliss and slid his hands back up her body, untying her bikini top and pulling it away. His hands didn't stop there, moving south and proceeding to unbutton her jean skirt before sliding both it and her bikini bottoms off. He looked over her body as he crawled back on top of her, and Lily shivered under the scrutiny of his stare. His lips found hers once more, and as his hands were busy touching and caressing her now bare body, she took his moment of distraction to slide her hands down his chest and stomach to help him out of his swimming shorts he had been wearing, intending to make him feel as good as he had made her feel.

James groaned into her mouth when he felt Lily's soft fingers running over him. He was already incredibly hard, but she was now making his mind become cloudy by her actions. He resumed some of his own teasing and within minutes, he was suddenly pushed off of her onto his back. He enjoyed the view immensely as she began straddling him. He groaned when he felt himself enter inside her. As she continued to move over his body, he heard her moan softly, and he couldn't help pulling her body down closer to him so he could snog her senseless. That sound alone drove him crazy. He tangled one of his hands into her red hair while the other slid over her back and bum. Soon, they were both moaning too much to kiss, moving quickly with one another. He felt her climax just as he did.

They were both breathless as they rested against each other. James' hands ran over her back before pulling her lips down onto his in a slow and loving kiss. "You're amazing."

She chuckled against his lips. "You're not so bad yourself."

He smiled at her before pulling her to lie down beside him. He waved his hand to wandlessly clean them up a bit as he pulled her close to him. They stayed that way for a while, talking quietly with one another. It wasn't long before the both of them fell asleep under their sheets in a tangle of limbs.

There weren't many days like this one so James was taking full advantage of it. This rare event only happened occasionally. He was resting his head on his arm as he lay next to his beautiful girlfriend, leaving him able to observe her more easily.

The thing was— he was awake while she was still fast asleep.

He loved watching her sleep. She was still slightly curled up to him with her free hand tucked up close to her with some of the sheet. Her eyelashes rested softly against her cheeks while her face remained relaxed with the hint of a smile on her face. Her red hair flowed around her sweetly. The sheets had been pulled around her funny so her bare back was completely uncovered. He gently ran a hand through her silky red hair before softly running his fingers over her back. He had no idea how he got so lucky. How such an amazing woman was in love with him was beyond him.

Her breath hitched as his fingers ran over her back for a fourth or fifth time, and her pretty green eyes fluttered open. She smiled at him before asking sleepily, "Are you staring at me, Potter?"

He chuckled. "Yes."

She smirked at his honesty, not that he could help it in anyway. "Cute."

James just nodded, smiling a bit to himself while he remained staring at her comfortably. Lily pulled him closer to her though, forcing him to lie on his back so she could snuggle up to him. Her face was buried in his neck, and she felt his free hand run over the back of her head as his lips kissed her forehead. He sighed. "Since our disguises have been found out, we're going to need new ones."

She nodded against him. "Sure. We should all probably stick together today after what happened yesterday. We should catch the girls and Sirius before they disappear. We only have a few hours until we leave anyway."

James sighed. "The girls are most likely hanging around so I can re-transfigure them this morning. Sirius is probably still sleeping."

She lifted herself up a bit to look down at him, holding the sheet to herself due to her state of undress. "I believe you should transfigure me then so I can go get ready, and then we can go talk with the rest of the house."

James tucked some of her hair behind her ear, nodding, before reaching to grab his wand off of the floor. When he turned back around, Lily gave a slight yelp as he pushed her to lie back down so he was the one looking down at her. She watched him curiously as he looked her over. "What?"

He frowned as he gazed down at his girlfriend. He had already memorized every feature about her a long time ago, but he felt the need to do it again since he wouldn't see her this way for at least half the day. "You're too beautiful the way you are."

Lily pulled him lower so she could kiss him softly. "It's just for some of today, James."

He nodded, sighing slightly to himself before he started moving his wand around silently. Lily felt whatever effects he was placing on her, similar to yesterday. He gave her a pained look before waving his wand a final time with an exaggerated sigh. She raised her eyebrow at him, smiling slightly. "What was that sigh for?"

He leaned over her and buried his head into her neck, sighing for a third time. His voice sounded like all of his dreams had been utterly destroyed. "I had to shorten your hair."

She giggled at him and kissed his cheek. "I love you."

He leaned back so he could kiss her lips gently. "I love you too."

Lily took a quick shower and pulled on her green bikini after she had magically cleaned it. When she had looked in the mirror, she was pleasantly surprised to look at James' transfigurations. He had altered her facial features of course, her eyes were now a bright blue, and her normally red hair had been lightened to an almost strawberry blonde. Her hair, of course, now only fell just past her shoulders rather than down her back, but she knew it was a necessary change. Upon seeing her new features, she grabbed her wand and charmed her bikini to be a red, pink, blue, and green plaid combination.

She was waiting in their room, packing up their things so they wouldn't have to do it later when James came out of their bathroom from his shower. He didn't look a thing like himself. He had changed his facial features, of course, and his eyes were now an incredibly dark brown. His hair was somewhat longer and a medium brown. He must've charmed it a bit though because while it still stuck up in the back, it also stuck up all over, making it look distinctly messy on purpose. He was rather cute that way. She wondered what that hairstyle would look like if he was back to normal. He looked at her with a sad smile. "Will you charm my eyes for me, Lily love? My charm is already beginning to wear off."

She waved her wand at him silently as she was able to grasp the charm quite easily. She saw his eyes react a bit so she was sure it had worked. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks."

She nodded, leaving their packed satchels lying on their bed. "So we need to let them know about yesterday, and you need to finish transfiguring."

Lily sent him downstairs to go help the girls while she handled Sirius this time. He was not going to go off on his own for the morning if she could help it. She knocked tentatively on his door, and when she heard a moody grunt, she assumed that it was alright to come in. She covered her eyes though, just in case. When she heard a male scoff, she lowered her hand tentatively with a teasing grin only to see Sirius staring at her distinctly sleepy and not altogether happy with her waking him up. She could see a slight lump in the covers next to him and knew instantly that he was not alone. At least he had some clothes on. Sirius sighed before asking her softly, "What is it, Lily? I'm not doing that whole transfiguring stuff."

Lily wasn't surprised that he knew who she was, considering she would be the only one who would be sent to deal with his obstinacy despite the fact that he may have a female hidden in his room, but she frowned at him before answering him sternly, "Sirius, James and I were tailed last night. This is not a game. Since we're leaving early this afternoon anyway, we're all going to go to the beach and stick together for the morning. Transformed, of course. I know you may not like it, but that's the way it is."

Sirius seemed to grasp the danger of the situation finally. He grumbled a bit before replying, "I'm just going to stay here then. I have Jessica here right now so I'll just send her on her way in a bit. I'll probably sleep through the rest of the morning anyway. I'm a bit knackered after last night."

Lily rolled her eyes at his insinuation of just what he was doing last night, not that she and James were any better. "Well, if you want to join us before we have to leave, you know what my disguise is, ok? And be sure to change yourself too. I know you may not like it, but we don't need any trouble."

Sirius nodded sleepily before lying back down so Lily made her way downstairs. James was looking through the kitchen, but he was alone. She glanced at him curiously. "Where are the girls?"

James sighed as he walked over to her, handing her a blueberry muffin, her favorite. "I sent them on their way. I told them we'd meet up with them, pretending we don't know them."

She nodded and proceeded to tell him about Sirius, which made him roll his eyes. They finished their breakfast before he apparated the two of them to the beach for the last time. They walked around for a short while, eventually finding Lauren and Tasha, who were disguised differently from yesterday— Lauren a blue-eyed blonde slightly reminiscent of Christina and Tasha a darker blonde with Lily's green eyes.

They all stuck together for the most part. There were too many people on the beach to really discern anyone that may or may not be watching them. This was good because practically nothing could happen to them so long as they didn't go off alone. The four of them lounged on the beach for the next hour or so, soaking up what sunshine they could before it was time to depart that afternoon.

Lauren sighed as she looked at the three of them from where she was quite happily tanning on her beach towel. "I'm thirsty. I'm going to go up and get some lemonade from that beach bar area up the way a bit. Who's coming with me, and does anyone else want anything?"

Lily pulled herself up so she was leaning back on her arms. "I'll go with you. I could stand for walking around a bit."

Tasha and James declined a drink, and soon, the two girls made their way up to the beach bar area together. James stared at Lily's bum longer than necessary which earned him a smack in the chest from Tasha. He rubbed the spot pitifully. "Hey! That hurt."

She rolled her eyes, laughing at him. "Just keeping you on your toes, James."

The two of them chatted quietly as they relaxed in the sunshine, but after about ten minutes, James sat back up to look back over at the beach bar area. He could still see the girls, but they were no longer alone. They had about three guys standing near them, clearly chatting them up. James frowned. He wasn't jealous really, considering he knew Lily only had eyes for him, but it was a little unsettling considering their situation.

Tasha followed his line of vision with a frown of her own. "You don't think…"

James kept watching, still unsure himself. His best guess from this faraway was that they could be magical. It was easier for him to tell when he was closer to the person he was looking at. However, if they were magical, the situation could potentially be dangerous. "I'm not sure, but maybe."

Tasha's eyes became concerned. The girls were clearly trying to be on their way, but the guys were persisting. When he noticed Lily's hand resting purposefully along her right leg, he knew instantly that they were in another situation. She had attached her wand to her right leg and had cast a modified eye aversion charm so she would have it easily accessible, just in case. He was going to get up and go do something about it when both Lauren and Lily were able to leave.

The three guys continued to watch them as they made their way back over to them. Both Lily and Lauren's expressions appeared rather worried so it wasn't a surprise when Lily sat down, saying quietly, "They know."

Lauren frowned as she sat down on her towel with her now unnecessary lemonade. "They're clearly magical and clearly polyjuiced. The local guys don't act like that at all."

James turned back to Lily. "Are you sure they know?"

She nodded grimly. "Nothing specific, but a vibe. There were other girls up at the bar, and they chose to immediately come to us."

Lauren looked over to James. "I felt it too. They were searching our faces constantly, almost trying to find an identifying feature. You did a good job with the transfigurations."

James sighed and spoke quietly, "I guess we better leave incrementally then. I have a feeling they'll stay with me and Lily. You two go off on your own and apparate back to the townhouse within a half hour. If Lily and I aren't already there, get Sirius. If you guys run into trouble, you know how to apparate right to me. If we run into trouble and need to leave right away, I'll alert you to apparate to me no matter where you are or what's going on, ok?"

Lily and Tasha didn't know what he meant by a lot of that, but Lauren nodded her head and started to collect her things. She and Tasha said goodbye, leaving Lily and James sitting together on the beach. James watched after them for awhile before turning back to Lily. She was leaning back on her arms, fidgeting a bit, probably from worry. He poked her in her side with a small smile. "No worrying yet, beautiful."

She gave him a look, but she smiled some. "What's the plan for us then, smartass?"

He shrugged as he looked around aimlessly, although his eyes were really watching the three guys who hadn't moved from their spot. "Well, we need to apparate back to the townhouse as soon as we can. I guess we're going to have to get a move on. I have a feeling they're going to see us apparate, but who cares at this point."

Both he and Lily got their stuff together before they started walking off the beach towards the apparition point. They could tell they were being followed by the three guys. They immediately apparated away once they got within the safe zone. He and Lily appeared in the townhouse living room and were about to head upstairs to tell Sirius when they both stopped cold at hearing a rather familiar, yet completely unwelcome feminine laugh behind them. James turned around, pulling Lily slightly behind him as he faced Bellatrix Black. He nodded to her coldly, "Bella."

There were three more apparitions, which belonged to the three guys that had been tailing them. They were still in their polyjuiced forms so their identities were a mystery. It was now four to two. Both Lily and he had their wands out, but it wasn't looking like the best of situations. Bella smiled at them evilly. "Tracking charm, Lily. Too bad you didn't think to check for one. I'm surprised at you both. So irresponsible. Tsk tsk."

James waved his wand, clearing their transfigurations and charms, including Lily's tracking charm, before he slipped on his glasses. He knew at least one thing that would distract Bella— him. Bella didn't disappoint and was now watching him appreciatively as he let go of Lily's hand to rest at his side with his palm facing behind him. Lily was curious about his behavior, but when she saw a mirror wandlessly levitate out of his back pocket into his hand, she was beginning to get some sort of idea. The others couldn't see any of this, of course. James smiled at Bella when he felt the mirror in his hands. "I'm impressed. Such a victory for you, Bella. I could, of course, give you another."

Bella's eyes were filled with lust. "Oh, do tell."

James smiled. He would never give her that, but he knew something else she would want above all else. "Sirius is upstairs. Asleep. Sirius Black, all to yourself, Bella."

Lily was shocked by what he was saying, but the mirror he was holding had taken on a faint purple glow as soon as he had spoken. She watched Bella's features light up. "Is that so?"

James nodded. "Sirius wasn't with us at the beach. I'm sure you know that. He's upstairs asleep. I'm sure your family would be quite pleased with you."

Bella appeared to be watching him closely, but James met her stare full-stop. It took her only a few moments before she suddenly disappeared silently, most likely having apparated upstairs. As soon as she disappeared, James fired off a series of stunners at the three guys in the room. They all threw up shield charms at the initial assault, but Lily had seen this so she immediately levitated one of the couches and threw it at the two men to their right. One of them dodged it by diving to the left, but the other caught the couch right around the middle. As soon as it landed on him, he didn't move and was clearly knocked out. Lily wasn't surprised, considering she had charmed it to weigh considerably more than it should. She turned her attention to the one that had dived out of the way since James was already exchanging rapid spellfire with the remaining one.

He sent multiple dark curses at her. She could tell they were powerful and wouldn't be blocked by a shield charm so she had to dodge them personally. She fired off a few stunners, but her specialty was charms, not defense. She shot a constant volley of low power charms at him, and was pleased when he suddenly stopped moving, almost choking, as he also started sweating profusely. He had even dropped his wand in his panic. Her charms to hike his body temperature and tighten his clothes to the point where it would disrupt breathing and cut off circulation must've worked. She was just about to send off a stunner to incapacitate him when she heard James' panicked voice yell out, "LILY, GET DOWN!"

She ducked immediately, in just enough time too, considering she saw a bright green spell shoot over her head. Her face paled considerably at the thought. She sent a stunner at her still choking adversary and then sent James' attacker the full body bind, seeing as he was much too focused on James. He saw it coming though, side-stepping it easily, before sending another powerful volley of dark curses at James. He dodged most of them, but the last one hit his watch. A large force of magic flew throughout the room, knocking both Lily and the last attacker off their feet. James was now staring at his watch in anguish and despair so he didn't see his attacker rushing back to his feet. Lily did, however, and sent the most powerful stunner she could muster at him. It managed to knock him back into the refrigerator after it grazed his shoulder.

She immediately made her way over to James, who was still messing with his watch, looking incredibly upset. She touched his arm gently, but jumped when she heard a loud crash from upstairs. "James, we have to help Sirius, we have to get the girls, and it's time for us to go."

James nodded, but he looked up at her briefly with a smile before turning his attention back to his watch, which he was continuously tinkering with and throwing spells at. "You were great. I don't think I ever want to duel you."

She smiled softly at his words before her worry over his behavior consumed her. "What are you doing? It's ruined, sweetheart."

James shook his head, looking distinctly upset over her saying that. "No. I need it. We need it."

She was confused by his comments, but he finally stopped shooting spells at his watch and touched a button near the bottom corner of the shattered faceplate, causing the watch to shimmer slightly. Within seconds, Lauren and Tasha apparated in front of them. Lauren was holding her necklace and Tasha's hand, looking slightly panicked. They both looked around, each gasping at the state of the house and the bodies on the floor. James frowned, still looking over his watch critically with a sad expression on his face. "You two, go get your things and head to my room. Check yourselves for tracking charms too. We need to get Sirius."

Lauren freaked out when she saw the state of his watch. "What the hell happened to it? Oh, Jimmy, I'm so sorry…"

James shrugged, still clearly upset over the whole thing. "Go, Lauren. I just hope it'll work one more time."

The girls ran up the stairs with Lily and James trailing behind them. James pushed open Sirius' door to find him breathing heavily with one of his hands resting on his stomach as he lay on his bed. The only good news was that Bella was clearly knocked out or stunned across the way. James ran over to him, immediately concerned. "Sirius? Sirius, are you ok?"

Sirius nodded groggily. "Thanks for the warning."

James pulled him to his feet, looking him over. "Grab your things. We're leaving now. More could be coming."

Lily helped Sirius grab some of his stuff while James shot more spells at his watch, frowning the whole time. The three of them made it to James and Lily's room where the girls were waiting. As soon as they were inside, James began to wave his wand around intricately. Lauren picked up on his idea to ward the room and started to do some of her own as well. Eventually, they were all standing wearily facing each other with their things. James sighed, removing his mangled watch. "We only are going to get one shot at this, and there won't be a delay of any kind anymore. The watch should hold for this last bit of magic, but the portkey spell is complicated so we'll see. Everyone touch a piece of the watch."

Tasha looked at him surprised. "Your watch is a portkey?"

Lily was also surprised, but didn't say anything. She should have figured, of course, considering she had admired his watch and some of its features before. He just sighed. "An illegal portkey that I hope still works."

Everyone grabbed a piece of the watch, but jumped when they heard a loud clang sound through the room. Lauren paled. "That's one of the wards."

James shot a few spells at the watch, but it would only glow faintly. Finally, he pocketed his wand, placing both of his hands over the watch, concentrating intently. Everyone could see a distinct glow beneath his hands so he immediately touched the watch where the 12 would have been. The watch's glow became a distinct blue, and they were all pulled away just as another loud clang shot through the room. They were pulled through time and space before the watch that had just been their portkey imploded within itself as they all landed awkwardly in James' room in Potter Manor. James watched on pitifully as his watch disappeared into nothingness. He looked crushed. Lauren was the only one who seemed to understand. "I'm sorry, Jimmy."

Sirius was frowning, but didn't say anything. He didn't look fully well. James nodded sadly. "It's fine, Lauren. I'll get over it. You two go relax. I'll come and tell you both what's going on later. Sirius, you might need Madam Pomfrey unless you know what she hit you with so I can find the remedy in the potions drawing room. Don't tell me you're fine because I know you're not."

Sirius shrugged unsteadily as Lauren dragged Tasha to her room. "I can go get the remedy downstairs. I'll see Madam Pomfrey after you talk with Dumbledore though, just in case."

James nodded and watched him leave his room to head downstairs. He finally turned towards his girlfriend, who looked a bit shaken up as she sat on the edge of his bed. He sat down next to her, pulling her into his arms. "You ok, Lils?"

She nodded into his shoulder. "I'm sorry about your watch."

He sighed, trying not to think about it. "It was the last gift my parents ever got me."

Lily's arms tightened around his back. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

He buried his face in her silky red hair, inhaling the comforting sweet scent. "I'll be fine. I have to talk with Dumbledore, but then we need to appear happy and upbeat for your family."

She nodded before replying cheekily, "So you mean we have to go from one stressful situation to the next?"

He chuckled into her hair before pulling back to kiss her lips gently. "Where's that optimism I always see when you discuss your family?"

She rolled her eyes playfully. "What optimism? My patience can only go so far."

He smiled, running his fingers through her hair. "Well, it's a good thing I have enough patience for the both of us then."

She reached up and pulled his lips against hers softly. "Come on. Let's go get this over with. I want to know what's going on."

He kissed her a bit more before pulling the two of them up to their feet. "Yes. Let's. I want to know that as well."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 – Back Home

James led Lily down the stairs of Potter Manor quickly so they could floo over to see Dumbledore straight away. However, Lily gasped about halfway down the staircase, instantly running down the rest of the stairs into the living room with James following quickly behind her.

Sirius was leaning against the couch, and he did not look so good. He was extremely pale and clutching his stomach in pain. Lily frantically moved her hands over his head and his arms in a motherly fashion while she asked him worriedly, "What's wrong, Sirius? I thought you knew which remedy you needed?"

Sirius just groaned. "Wrong curse. Must be something else."

James' face was bent in a deep frown as he grabbed Sirius, hoisting one of his arms over his shoulder before taking Lily's hand and leading all three of them to the fireplace. "You both have to touch me, or you'll get lost. The house is still sealed."

And with that, he grabbed some floo powder with the hand resting behind Sirius and threw it down while saying, "Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts."

All three of them watched as fireplaces flew before their faces before they were all dumped collectively into Dumbledore's office. James looked up at the ornate phoenix resting peacefully on his stand, calling him mentally to his side. He let go of Lily's hand, holding out his arm to greet the phoenix as Fawkes flew from his perch with a shrill cry. Lily jumped as both James and Sirius disappeared in a whirlwind of fire.

Professor Dumbledore came out from the back, clearly alarmed from all the noise. His eyes widened when he spotted Lily in his office. "Lily? What are you doing back so early? What's wrong?"

Lily's brow furrowed before she told him quietly, "We were discovered despite our transfigurations. We were so silly… We forgot to check for a tracking charm and were followed back to the townhouse. Sirius got hit with something. Fawkes just took him and James to the hospital wing."

Dumbledore looked somber as he made his way further into his office. "Who was there? Did you know them?"

Lily frowned. "Bellatrix was there, along with three males who were using polyjuice potion. We don't know if there were any more. We incapacitated the four of them before using James' portkey to get home."

Dumbledore sighed. "Ms. Black? I suppose I should not be surprised."

Lily nodded, but looked back at him, still mildly stressed over the situation. "Why were they even there though?"

Before Dumbledore could answer, James reappeared with Fawkes in another whirlwind of flames. He walked over to place the phoenix on his stand before he gazed over at the old man he had known all of his life. "Hello, Sir."

Dumbledore took in the heavy weight that appeared to be on James' shoulders at the moment. It made him sad to see him dealing with so much. His blue eyes were filled with concern. "How is Sirius, James?"

James ran a hand through his hair with a frown. "He'll be alright. He thought he was hit with the Ventris curse, but it was actually the Intestinus curse. Both have similar symptoms so he took the wrong remedy. Madam Pomfrey has straightened him out and says he should be there for the next couple of days. He should be fine for school on Monday, but I didn't tell him that because that could impede his progress."

Lily smiled slightly at his small joke about Sirius prolonging his time in the hospital wing for the sake of skipping class, but it didn't last long due to the seriousness of the situation. "At least he'll be ok."

James nodded, taking her hand and sitting down with her on the large chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. "So what was the reason for their presence in Miami? It seems too far-fetched and unnecessary."

Dumbledore sighed, leaning back on his desk slightly. "Well, I discovered the possibility that you might have some followers quite by accident. Aberforth overheard mysterious persons discussing it casually in the Hog's Head. I decided not to leave you without knowing about the potential danger. The presence of Ms. Black is interesting, as are her three male companions. It's almost as if it was a test from Lord Voldemort."

Lily frowned. "Like they had to prove themselves?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Quite right, my dear. It would be just like Tom to require something of the sort from his followers to prove their loyalty. Ms. Black and some others will be graduating shortly so becoming a Death Eater may unfortunately be a possibility of exactly what they plan to do with their education."

James looked at him curiously. "So what now?"

Dumbledore gave them both stern looks. "You are to act like nothing happened. There is nothing that can be done of it now, and it seems that all they have accomplished was to reveal one identity, suggest three others, and put us on warning. I trust not many others know of your trip to the Evans' home for this weekend?"

Lily looked over at James briefly before saying, "I know we both mentioned it over the past week so I suppose that just Remus, Sirius, Lauren, and Tasha should know."

Dumbledore nodded and continued to look at them seriously, almost like a parent instructing his children. "Go on as normal then. Be careful and on guard for the weekend. I trust any adverse persons are finished for now. Oh, and please send both Lauren and Tasha back to the castle. I will make sure Sirius and the girls know to keep the event quiet."

They both nodded their agreement and made their way back to Potter Manor together. James went to talk with the girls while Lily changed and got their satchels together. She pulled out an outfit for James too so he was able to change when he came back into the room a few minutes later.

After he pulled on a blue jumper over his head and straightened his glasses, he smiled at her. "Are you ready, Lily love?"

Lily shrugged. "As I'll ever be."

James kissed her lips quickly before leading her downstairs. They sent Lauren and Tasha back to Hogwarts through the floo before he pulled out Potter Manor's magical parchment, adding her name to the apparition list. He looked over at her after he sent it away magically. "You're on the list now so if there is any trouble, you can apparate here safely at any time, ok?"

She nodded and held out her hand. "Thanks. I'm going to apparate us to my backyard. That's where I always go."

He took her outstretched hand as he adjusted both of their satchels on his shoulder, and she apparated the two of them to her house. They both took in their surroundings for a moment, and Lily instantly smiled happily when a rather large German Shepherd flew at her, clearly ecstatic by her presence. James had stepped out of the way, smiling at how pretty she looked when she was happy. "You're so beautiful when you smile."

She blushed slightly while she pet her beast of a dog. "Stop making me blush, Mr. Potter."

James chuckled as he turned towards her house, but he stopped suddenly with a frown on his face. Lily looked at him curiously with slight apprehension. "What is it?"

James sighed. "You have no wards on your house. Do you mind?"

She shook her head as he gestured to himself, implying that he would put some in place. James pulled out his wand tentatively, waving it casually, probably to complete an invisible perimeter charm or something, before he started a complicated wand pattern that Lily had never seen him do before. She could see faint sparks weaving in and out in a complex pattern, protruding away from his wand and over towards her house where they essentially disappeared into nothing visible. He kept going for a few minutes, but it was clearly tiring him out; his wand didn't appear as steady and his left hand was trembling slightly at his side. She remembered reading about shared magical energy between mentally and emotionally connected persons somewhere in her ancient protective charm book that James had gotten for her from his library. She knew it took a lot of magical power to be able to do, but she would never know if it was possible if she didn't try so she hesitantly took his hand as he continued his spellwork. She could practically feel how tired he was. She tightened her grip on his hand, willing him some of her own energy so he could finish. His wand's shaking lessened and within a few minute's time, he was done. He sighed deeply before looking over at her curiously. "What did you do?"

She shrugged, now a bit tired herself. "I let you have some of my energy."

He leaned over and kissed her softly. "Thanks, beautiful. I didn't know wizards could do that. You have no idea how handy that would have been when we were doing that Wizard of Oz prank."

She shook her head. "It doesn't really work like that. It has to be between two relatively powerful people who are close to one another. Anyway, what did you do?"

He looked at her curiously when she didn't elaborate about the sharing energy thing and changed the subject. He didn't push the issue though. "There's an anti-apparition ward in place now; only you and I can apparate into the house and on the yard. I placed a couple other protective wards on the place, but I can't do anything really specific because of the whole muggle thing."

Lily nodded and tugged on his hand to lead him into her house from the back entrance. Thor followed her closely, wagging his tail the whole time. She was impressed that he hadn't done anything to James; obviously, the dog didn't consider him to be a threat of any kind which was rather endearing. She made her way into the house first when James gestured for her to go in before him, ever the gentleman. "Mum? Dad?"

Her Mother came around from the kitchen in surprise and clear delight. She immediately pulled them both into hugs. "Lily, baby, you're home! James, it's so good to see you once more! How was your trip? Look at the two of you! Both looking so tanned and relaxed! Lily, I think you have to persuade your father to take me somewhere nice and warm…"

James smiled at her words and gave her a wink. "I'll be sure to drop a hint for you, Mrs. Evans."

Mrs. Evans' chuckled. "Aren't you the charmer? Now, you both tell me all about your trip. Lily, your father is finishing up some work down at the university. He'll be here for dinner though."

Both Lily and James intermittently told stories about their trip to her mother, although they left out any of their more intimate moments as well as their unfortunate ambush. Mrs. Evans busied herself in the kitchen as she listened. The two of them tried to help her out with a few of the things, but she insisted on making most things the muggle way. They eventually were greeted by Mr. Evans, who also wanted to hear all about their trip. All of them talked animatedly throughout dinner, never once having the dull, awkward pause that had lingered when they had gone out to dinner with Vernon and Petunia just before Christmas.

Mrs. Evans kept looking the both of them over with a huge smile, like she knew a secret they didn't. James didn't find it uncomfortable, just interesting. Lily chose to ramble on about any and everything in response to her mother's overly happy nature. James just smiled softly at her familiar behavior as he ate his food. It was what she did when she was nervous about something.

When her father started looking at her and the two of them curiously, especially because of Lily's rambling, he grabbed her hand under the table, giving it a squeeze. She seemed to relax a bit so James cut into the conversation talking about the next few months back at school, which prompted questions about what they both planned to do after graduation. He and Lily hadn't exactly talked about that, but he figured there would be no change in their relationship so he wasn't surprised when she brought up job applications and NEWT exams in lieu of that topic. Lily sighed. "Well, all of the seventh years have to take their NEWTs near the end of term, and we all have to meet with our Heads of House to begin our job application process prior to taking the exams. That will probably start up after we come back from break. We should probably look through some of those materials that have been sitting out in the common room, James."

James shrugged. "I already know I'm going to apply to the Auror department within the Ministry— that's the magical equivalent to…what was it called again, Lily?"

Lily chuckled. "It's like muggle police who do fieldwork, but more dangerous and with worse criminals."

Mrs. Evans frowned. "That sounds dangerous."

James sighed. "It is, but they prepare you really well for it. There's extensive training involved and a bit more schooling. I already have half of the training complete because of the extra schoolwork I've done on my own. Well, with my best mate, Sirius, too."

Lily grumbled at him, "I don't know where I want to apply yet. Most likely within the Ministry, of course, but I'm not sure on a department."

James looked over at her curiously. "You mentioned to me a while back that you wanted to be an Unspeakable."

Mr. Evans gazed at his daughter thoughtfully. "What do those people do, Lilypad?"

Lily sighed and fiddled with her food. "They work on experimental and ancient powerful magic. I know there's supposedly a lot of charmwork involved…" She gave James a look when he coughed into his hands, something that sounded distinctly like "your specialty," before she continued, "However, there's a lot of secrecy surrounding what they actually do, and there is a hint of danger in discovering something or working with magic that hasn't been tested properly."

Mrs. Evans smiled at her. "From what you have told me before, that sounds like something that would be perfect for you."

Mr. Evans nodded affirmatively. "I can't say I like the danger element, but all magic is potentially dangerous. You've told me before that you're excellent at charmwork so it seems like a perfect fit."

Lily tried incredibly hard, but she couldn't ignore the smug smile on James' face as he listened to her parents encourage her to apply for the job that she was slightly afraid to. "Shut it, Potter."

James held up his hands innocently. "What? I didn't say anything."

Her parents laughed as she humphed at her annoyingly cute and handsome boyfriend who happened to be endlessly charming her parents. They were supposed to be on her side. He was lucky she loved him. "I'll get you back."

James laughed, but was pleased when he could tell she was merely teasing him by the twinkle in her pretty green eyes. "I remember the last time you got me back all too well, Lils. I'm quite happy being on your good side."

Mr. Evans watched them both with a smile. "Lily, you'll have to tell us about this payback of yours. It must have been pretty good. Did you not tell us that James is rather good with magic and pranks?"

Lily smiled coyly. "He's good. I'm just better, Daddy."

James snickered. "Your daughter is quite evil, Mr. Evans."

Mrs. Evans laughed. "So what did she do, James?"

He sighed dramatically. "It's too painful to recall."

Lily pushed at him playfully with a huge smile. "Liar. I slipped him a potion that required him to do whatever I said all day. It was to add fire to the myth that I have him quote unquote 'whipped,' which is true for the most part."

Her parents started laughing at James' expense while Lily giggled wickedly. He just smiled. "I can't wait for you to give that potion to one of Sirius' girlfriends."

Lily's eyes were sparkling. "Me neither."

They all continued to chat over dinner about other mundane Hogwarts topics. While Lily and James were helping Mrs. Evans in the kitchen after dinner, she reminded Lily that Petunia would arrive early in the morning for her so they could go to her fitting for her bridesmaid dress. At this information, Lily made a face at James, who had to try not to laugh so as to not alert her mother. After some relaxing in the living room, the both of them headed upstairs for bed. James was, of course, staying in the guestroom so he pulled her aside to give her a proper goodnight kiss and said he'd see her before she left in the morning. She hadn't realized it until then, but they hadn't really and properly snogged all day until that moment. She made sure to enjoy herself.

Lily eventually made her way back down to her room with a soft sigh after James had disappeared into his room. She knew he'd probably take a shower and go to bed. She had similar sentiments. It had been a long day. First, there was their horrid morning in Miami with the uninvited ambush, then the stress and worry afterwards, and finally, coming home to her parents. She shook her head as she closed her bedroom door behind her. Her mother clearly was aware of how close she and James had become. Her looks throughout the evening attested to that. She wasn't sure if James picked up on it, but she doubted it, considering he hadn't acted any different. She, of course, had become nervous and overly chatty. Lily knew the two of them didn't act extremely affectionate or anything, but there were little things like looks, smiles, how close they may have been sitting, or innocent touches here and there. Sirius had mentioned to her once that he thought it was 'bloody obvious' how in love the two of them were some of the time. She supposed that must be true.

She showered quickly before changing into a pair of her pajama shorts and a camisole. As she lay in bed trying to sleep, she realized relatively quickly that she couldn't. It was extremely odd to not have James next to her to snuggle up to or to not hear him whisper 'I love you' into her ear before he fell asleep. She tossed and turned for a while, but when she glanced back at the clock for the millionth time, she sat up wearily. It was 12:07am. She couldn't help it as her feet seemed to gravitate towards the guestroom— although she made sure to be as quiet as possible, considering she had to pass her parents' room on the way there.

As she got closer, she realized that the light was still on in his room. Her brow furrowed. He must've fallen asleep with the light on again. She gently pushed open the door and found herself smiling in surprise at seeing him sitting comfortably in the armchair off to the side of his still made bed. He had showered and was wearing nothing but a pair of pajama pants, leaving her able to admire his newly tanned stomach and chest muscles. He hadn't heard her come in either because he was completely engrossed as she watched him draw in one of the muggle sketchbooks she had gotten him for Christmas. "You're still awake."

He jumped, and his eyes shot up in surprise. "Lily, what are you doing in here? Your parents will kill me."

She chuckled. "No, they won't." She sighed before continuing softly, "I couldn't sleep."

James nodded in understanding (he obviously couldn't sleep either) and gestured for her to join him on the armchair. He lifted up the sketchbook and his pencil, allowing her to sit comfortably on his lap, before he lowered the materials in front of him once more, continuing with his drawing. It was a picture of her lying on the beach in Miami while she was leaning back on her arms laughing. She watched him draw quietly as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I didn't think you even used those."

He scoffed. "Are you kidding? This is my last one, and it's almost filled. I'm going to have to have you take me to get some more. This stuff is way better than a quill and parchment."

She lifted her head in surprise. "But I never see you use them."

He chuckled and leaned over slightly to kiss her neck. He waved his wand that had been lying on the nightstand, and the muggle sketchbook suddenly looked to be nothing more than parchment and his pencil looked just like a quill. She nodded with a smile, knowing he must've been using them in class all this time. "Concealment charm or illusion charm?"

He removed the magic. "A little bit of both on the sketchbook, but the pencil is a partial transfiguration, leaving the tip as a pencil."

Lily smiled. "You're sneaky."

He poked her in her side and smiled wickedly. "You're the sneaky one. You're the one in the guest bedroom with your boyfriend in your parents' house in nothing more than your barely-there pajamas. You're such a little minx."

She giggled at his mischievous expression, not minding in the least as he ran his free hand over her bare legs. "Don't worry. It'll be your fault."

James rolled his eyes playfully. "Somehow, I expected that."

She chuckled as he continued to draw a few lines here and there on his drawing. She looked over his drawing carefully before turning to him and enjoying the adorable look of concentration on his face as his hazel eyes scanned over the sketchbook page. "How come you always draw pictures of me? I've never seen you draw a picture of yourself or something."

He made a face. "I do draw some other things and other people occasionally, but I hate doing self-portraits. They always look stupid. I guess I must look stupid."

She smacked him lightly while she laughed. "You do not. Most people don't like what they look like in pictures or drawings, I suppose. How do you think I feel, looking at your drawings of practically nothing but me all the time?"

He frowned and looked at her curiously. "But you're beautiful."

She smiled at his words. She could tell he was utterly baffled over the fact the she didn't think she was beautiful. She supposed she knew she was pretty, but there were plenty of girls she thought that were prettier than her or had prettier features, etc. "You're very sweet, but that doesn't mean I like looking at pictures of me all the time."

He gestured to his drawing with a slight smile, clearly intent on proving her wrong. "Ok, then tell me what's wrong with this picture."

She glanced down at the drawing of her laughing on the beach, looking at it critically. He always made her look so perfect. She sure didn't feel that perfect. "Well, my hair does not look like that for one thing; it's much more annoying. I am not that skinny either… My smile looks funny, and…I don't know…something is off about my facial features."

James gave her a look while he ran a hand over the side of her face, looking purposefully into her eyes. "You have no idea what you look like then because I draw exactly what I see. Your hair is gorgeous, and it does look like that— all tousled and sexy; you are that skinny and actually should eat more before you break in half; your smile is something I have perfected, considering I have stared at you for basically six and a half years now; and I think your face is beautiful despite the fact that you think your facial features are weird."

She knew she was blushing, but she couldn't look away from him; his stare was intoxicating. She sighed reluctantly. "Then, you have to draw a picture of you for me, considering you claim to capture everything correctly. If I don't like some things about myself even though you like them, then what you don't like about yourself in a picture or a drawing, I probably like. I think you're handsome."'

He humphed, not liking where the conversation had led to. "You really are evil."

She giggled before kissing his cheek and leaning against him comfortably. "Please?"

He sighed, and Lily bit her lip to keep from smiling as he gave in. She knew he would never really deny her anything, so long as it was within reason. She watched him write at the bottom of his drawing quickly, 'Miami Beach, '78, JP' before turning to a blank page, seemingly against his will. "What do you want me to draw myself doing then, Lily love? This picture is for you."

She shrugged and said, "I don't know, something in Miami."

She felt him nod, and he immediately started drawing himself. For someone who didn't draw himself, he was really good at it. She supposed looking at yourself everyday would help, but if she were to draw herself, she knew there would be things she'd change subconsciously as she drew, essentially changing herself into a better version of herself on paper. He was rather accurate. He even got the dimple on his cheek, which made his handsome smile a bit crooked and more devilish. She didn't know how long he had been drawing, but she eventually felt herself yawning. It wasn't long before she closed her eyes, listening quietly to the comforting sound of James' breathing and the sound of his pencil as it ran across the paper.

Mrs. Evans knew everything about her little girl. She smiled to herself as she got ready in her room quietly so her husband would remain sleeping comfortably. He worked too hard anyway. Her mind continued to drift to her youngest daughter's smiling face yesterday evening, no doubt mainly caused by the handsome young man in her life. It was clear that her little girl was in love. She hadn't seen Lily that happy since before she left for Hogwarts. This, of course, was not even mentioning the level of comfort that was obvious between the two of them. She had known they were close when she had first met James, but it was now clear that this was far more than an innocent crush in her daughter's life.

She was incredibly happy for Lily. She only wished she could say the same about Petunia. She had wanted what Lily had for Petunia, but Petunia was different. Petunia didn't look for romance and love like Lily did, but rather security, comfort, stability, and…normalcy. She knew that Petunia could have found those things with someone else more appropriate, but she respected her daughter's choice, even if it wasn't exactly the one she had wanted for her.

She knew her girls didn't get along, although they faked it for her sake. She was well aware that both girls thought that she couldn't tell, but she knew her girls' habits better than they probably even did. Petunia made digs at Lily openly regardless of how kind her voice sounded while Lily took everything without saying a word and acted equally polite, sometimes with digs of her own. But when Lily's patience peaked, she snapped and something magical was bound to happen when Lily unleashed her dormant anger. She hoped that nothing of the sort would happen today while the girls were going to be in forced company. At least she had noticed from the time last Christmas that James was somehow able to detract Lily from reaching that level of anger. Hopefully, his presence at the house would help Lily get through the day with her sister. She thought Petunia was being a bit unreasonable sometimes, but she knew that Lily never fully listened to what Petunia had to say either. They were both truly at fault for their animosity.

She sighed softly as she made her way over to her daughter's room. She supposed she should make sure she was awake so as to avoid the headache of the girls' bickering so early in the morning, especially because they were going to be around each other for most of the day. She opened the bedroom door gently before poking her head in, "Lily?"

She frowned. Lily's bed had clearly been slept in, but her daughter was not there. She didn't think her daughter would have done what she was thinking she might have done… Actually, if her daughter was anything like her, which she was, she was positive Lily had done what she was thinking she did. She had gone to see James. She shook her head, trying to get rid of her smile. Yes, it was clear her daughter was in love with the boy. Hopefully, she had just gone in there to wake him up. Her father would not be happy if he knew that his youngest daughter had gone off into a boy's room. She sighed as she made her way down to the guestroom.

She knocked on the door before pushing it open when there had been nothing but silence in response. Mrs. Evans smiled instantly at the sight of her daughter sleeping comfortably on James' lap in the armchair, although she knew her husband would never approve of their state of undress— James without a shirt on and his youngest daughter with no dressing gown. At least it was she who caught them. Unfortunately, she was going to have to wake them up, and hopefully, any embarrassment would be at a minimum.

As she got closer to the chair, she noticed a notebook and pencil in James' hands. When she gently picked it up, she was pleasantly surprised to see a drawing of the young man in front of her smiling and laughing while on what she could assume was a beach in Miami. What grabbed her heart though were the words scrawled in the bottom right corner, 'For the love of my life, JP.' She flipped through some of the previous pictures quietly, easily becoming in awe over his talent for capturing her little girl so effectively in his drawings. There were a few drawings of a castle, a stag, another girl, and a couple guys, but 90% of the drawings were of her daughter. Some of the drawings had even been magically charmed to move around and be active, which made it seem as if she was watching short videos of her daughter while she was at school.

She quietly placed the notebook on the nightstand, forcing herself to get rid of her happy grin, considering she was supposed to be acting like a stern parent for the next few minutes. When she felt she had done it effectively, she nudged her daughter in the shoulder gently while saying softly, "Lily, time to get up. Petunia will be here within the hour."

Lily shot up in the seat with her eyes open wide at the word 'Petunia.' However, James groaned over her quick movement. She had obviously forgotten that she had been sitting on his lap and had elbowed him pretty fiercely in the ribs. She immediately turned towards him, her eyes filled with concern. "Oh, I'm sorry, James!"

He just rubbed his ribcage as he mumbled pitifully, "Evil."

That earned him a playful glare before Lily turned back towards her mother with a slightly guilty expression. Her mother was watching the two of them with an interesting expression on her face. She wasn't sure what to make of her mother's look, but she assumed she wasn't in trouble. "Mum, I'm sorry. We were just talking, and we must've fallen asleep."

Her mother just raised her eyebrow, clearly not believing a word she had said. Lily knew she would be talking about this later with her mother. Mrs. Evans just sighed. "Right then. Well, you need to get ready if you want to start this day off right. Petunia will be here shortly, and it would be better for you to be ready to go so you two don't start off bickering. James, if you would be a dear, I would love your help around the house today. Michael is practically useless."

Lily giggled at her mother's comment about her Dad as she stood up. "Dad's not that bad, Mum."

Her mother held her hands on her hips and gave her daughter a slightly obstinate look. "Yes, he is."

James sighed, smiling slightly, as he also stood up. "It doesn't matter. I don't mind helping at all, Mrs. Evans."

Mrs. Evans nodded to him as she and her daughter made their way to the door. Lily gave James a pretty smile before heading down to her room. However, she could tell her mother was following her so she supposed that being scolded later actually meant right now. Lily inwardly grimaced as they both made it into her bedroom. She turned back towards her mother carefully while saying, "Mum, I—"

But Mrs. Evans held up her hand, immediately silencing her. "Shhh, dear. I just want you to make sure it doesn't happen again tonight. I don't want your father being the one to find you two. You're my baby girl so it's hard to watch you be all grown up, but your father might not be as understanding as me. You're almost eighteen anyway. Oh, and if I remember correctly, being seventeen makes you an adult in the magical world, am I right?"

Lily merely nodded, still unsure with where this was going. Her Mum had a strange smile on her face. "Yes."

Lily was watching her Mum carefully now, but there was nothing to prepare her for her mother's next words, "So when did you tell him you love him? And how long have you two been 'together together?' The closeness you two have is rather obvious, my dear. Well, at least to another woman. Your father still might not see it."

Lily blushed completely. "_Mum_…"

Mrs. Evans laughed. "Now you get embarrassed? Lily Marie…"

Lily was not prepared for this discussion. She could still feel the heat all over her face. "We're both in love, and we're both happy with one another. Are you happy now?"

Mrs. Evans smiled. "Very much so. He's a wonderful young man. I'm glad he's the one you gave your heart to."

Lily forced herself through some more conversation with her mother about her and James' relationship, and she was positive she would not be able to look her mother in the eye for the rest of the weekend, let alone James. Her face was a permanent shade of red, and her mother looked happier than she had ever seen her. When her mother finally left her bedroom to allow her to get ready about ten minutes later (it felt like three million years to her), she went decidedly pale at a new thought. James was going to be alone with her mother all day. She felt extremely bad for leaving him with her rather sneaky mother. Considering all of the thousands of ways she had rejected him publicly at school, maybe his tolerance for embarrassment was a bit better than hers. He would need it if her mother started toying with him.

James made his way quietly down the stairwell towards the kitchen of Lily's house. He ran into her mother as he rounded the corner. He steadied them both with a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that."

She was giving him that smile she had given him last night. He had been around people with that 'I know something you don't' smile his whole life, but on this woman, it sort of frightened him a little— kind of like how Lily's mischievous smile frightened him actually. He was going to have to be wary around the woman. Mrs. Evans sighed wistfully. "That's ok. You can help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen for breakfast. I made blueberry muffins the other day. I know there's some cereal too."

James nodded. "Will do. Thanks."

He made his way into the kitchen and eventually found himself some cereal. He had a minor problem finding a bowl and a spoon, but within a few minutes time, he was quietly eating his breakfast at the table, casually looking over one of the muggle newspapers that was lying on the table from yesterday. It was still incredibly odd to him to look at a paper without moving images all over the front. He was engrossed in one of the main articles until he heard a voice call out somewhat cattily, "Mum? Lily? Are you in the…"

The woman, who had walked into the kitchen, stopped speaking abruptly when her gaze landed on him. If her pale brown eyes hadn't appeared so cold or her face so unhappy, James would have thought she actually looked pretty today. Her blonde hair fell past her shoulders a bit, and she was wearing clothes that fit her much better than that blue dress had over Christmas. He nodded to her. "Petunia."

She frowned, but nodded back at him in similar courtesy. "James."

He sighed and spoke politely, "Your mother was heading back upstairs a few minutes ago, and Lily should almost be done getting ready. You shouldn't have to wait very long."

She looked back to the stairs moodily before reluctantly sitting at the table to wait. She grumbled, "I don't want to be late for our appointment."

James nodded while he swallowed some of his cereal. He suddenly got up and grabbed two blueberry muffins, wrapping them in a paper towel, before taking his seat once more to resume eating. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

Petunia watched him curiously. She couldn't help feeling a bit of disdain at the sight of him. As much as her mother had tried to hide it from her, she had overheard both her parents saying that they thought he was such a gentleman and perfect for Lily; this was something she had never heard them say about Vernon. She only wished they would at least try and see the good side of Vernon, but apparently, her relationship with Vernon was wrong and Lily's relationship with the man in front of her was perfect. Just another thing to add on her checklist of what makes Lily perfect. She was just about to make small talk because it was expected of her when she heard her sister's voice, "James? My Mum said you were down here, and I have to talk to you before I leave because we…Petunia, hi."

Petunia nodded slightly to her sister, who had also stopped abruptly upon entering the kitchen. However, she frowned when she noticed that James' attention had been completely diverted to her younger sister now standing in the doorway. He had a bright smile on his face. "Hey, beautiful. Here, I grabbed you these so you and Petunia can head off. She mentioned that she doesn't want to be late for the appointment."

Lily smiled at him as he handed her the blueberry muffins. She loved that he always thought about her, especially considering she similarly thought about him all the time. She was also happy because he hadn't asked her about what she had just mentioned she wanted to talk to him about, although she could tell his eyes were asking the question. "Thanks. I guess we can go then, Petunia." She paused and gave him a particular look, "Have fun with my mother today."

He seemed to get the hint about her mother so he nodded with a smirk. "You bet."

Petunia had gotten up and had moved to go, but he gently tugged on Lily's hand, indicating for her to kiss him goodbye. She leaned over and kissed his lips gently, and she heard him whisper so Petunia wouldn't hear him, "Love you."

She smiled at him, mouthing the words back to him. She would've said them aloud if it hadn't been for the daggers she knew were being shot at her back a the moment. She could always feel the heat of Petunia's gaze. She grudgingly followed her sister out to her car. It was going to be a long morning.

Petunia was obviously unhappy with her for whatever reason as she drove, but Lily chose to keep quiet. At least if they were both silent, they weren't arguing with each other. About twenty minutes into the drive, Petunia finally spoke, although it was somewhat curtly, "Eileen and Vernon's sister, Marge, are meeting us there. I want to see how you all look together. We also have to discuss a lot of things."

Lily nodded, looking out the passenger window. "I'm sure it will be just as you envisioned it."

Petunia risked a glance out of the corner her eye at her younger, more perfect sister. She had not appreciated the random PDA between the two of them that morning. They were practically all over each other. You just didn't act that affectionate in front of other people. It was much better to be more discrete, chaste, and dignified. She and Vernon were a much better example. "Yes, well, we'll have to wait and see, won't we?"

Lily sighed inwardly, forcing a polite smile onto her face. She didn't want to appear unhappy in any way. She wanted to make sure her sister had her special day the way she wanted it, despite Petunia being rather rude to her. Petunia had to know that going to try on and flounder around in a pale pink dress for the day when she had red hair was not exactly her idea of fun, but she _was_ doing it, all for her. She hoped that would be enough for Petunia to lay off a little.

They eventually made their way inside the dress shop, and Petunia showed her the wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses she had picked out. She had to hand it to her sister; the dresses were beautiful. Lily couldn't help but wince inwardly at the pale pink color, which was not as pale as she had envisioned, although she supposed she had envisioned a shade of pink so pale that the dresses were almost white themselves. "These are beautiful, Pet."

Petunia's eyes widened slightly at Lily's use of a very old nickname, but she didn't say anything because Eileen arrived shortly after that. Lily was left to herself for a bit as the two girls chatted snottily with one another. She desperately hoped James was having a better time than she was. However, if her mother had cornered him, she actually felt bad for him as well.

When Vernon's sister, Marge, showed up with some little, nippy bulldog that she 'simply, could never have left at home,' Lily was positive she was looking at a female version of Vernon. It was actually quite scary. The woman was big-boned, to put it mildly, and had a hard look to her face. The bulldog followed her around as she ordered people around, Petunia included. Lily was even more surprised when her sister let Marge order her around for the most part. Marge directed all of the girls to try on the bridesmaid dresses so Petunia could see and told Petunia to sit comfortably out with 'her little Stumpy-kins.'

As Lily stood in the dressing room pulling on the pale pink dress, she couldn't help wishing it was a more appropriate color. The dress was beautiful, yes, but it was still…ugh…_pink_. The dress had thin spaghetti straps, a scoop neck, and a corset-like bodice that tied gently in the back with a pretty floor-length gown. She looked at herself in the dressing room mirror critically before wrinkling her nose, clearly unhappy with the image she saw, and suddenly, her dress turned emerald green. She jumped at the change, her eyes wide. She was stunned because that was clearly conscious wandless magic she had just done. She couldn't wait to tell James about it. She had simply thought that green would look better and then, boom!

She gently fished through her things for her wand so she could rectify the accident. When she was once again looking at her reflection with the pale pink dress, she frowned a second time. She called out tentatively, "Petunia? What were you thinking you wanted for our hair— up or down?"

Petunia's voice sounded smug as she called back to her, "Down, of course. Maybe half-up, but mostly down."

Lily grimaced. Petunia clearly wanted her to stand out with her red hair in this pink dress. It was rather underhanded of her to act so callous. She wondered if Eileen or that Marge character had given her the idea or if it really was her own way of getting back at her for whatever reason. She stared critically at her reflection, suddenly remembering how she had looked when she had been transfigured. Maybe she would look better with a different hair color with this dress…

She tried the dark brown, the strawberry blonde, a white blonde, a medium brown, a dirty blonde, and ultimately landed on a soft, honey brown. She changed it briefly back and forth between the strawberry blonde and the honey brown. Both colors looked rather nice. She left the honey brown before waving her wand once more, charming her hair a bit so it was kind of like what she had done for Valentine's Day. She smiled. Now this looked perfect for what Petunia was thinking. She actually felt pretty this way too. Her thoughts were interrupted abruptly by Petunia's screeching voice, "LILY! Just _what_ are you doing in there? Get out here so I can see you all together!"

Lily jumped, immediately waving her wand to let go of her transfiguration and charms, leaving her back with her red hair to look completely awful with this pink dress. She placed her wand back in her other clothes before hurriedly stepping outside. "Sorry, I was trying out a few hairstyles."

Petunia glared at her, and Lily gulped. Obviously, Petunia understood that she had been playing with magic. However, the glare eventually eased into an expression which Lily assumed was happy. Lily was sure the satisfying smirk now on her sister's face was because Lily looked absolutely ridiculous in pink. However, Eileen was looking at her critically, although there was a slightly impressed look in her eyes, "Where'd you get that necklace, Lily? I've never seen one like it."

Lily's hands immediately flew to her neck where her lily pendant from James was. She was so used to seeing it on, she hadn't even thought about it back in the dressing room. In fact, she never took it off. Petunia was now frowning as she too noticed the necklace herself, her eyes held a hint of fury, and perhaps, jealousy. Marge appraised her warily, likely waiting for her response so she could analyze it and gossip about it later. Lily just kept her voice soft, "Ummm, James gave it to me for Christmas."

She didn't elaborate about anything else. Eileen had walked closer to get a better look at it, but Marge ignored her and just began talking to the now furious Petunia about the wedding— how they should walk in, who they should walk in with, and the flowers they were going to use. Eileen tossed her dark brown hair snootily after looking more closely at the necklace. Lily could tell she was still admiring it, even though she was trying not to. "Well, I suppose…if you like that sort of thing. It's a bit gaudy actually."

Lily kept her lips sealed. You would have to be blind to call the lily pendant anything but exquisite. Eileen was just saying that for Petunia's benefit so Lily didn't really mind all that much. Petunia's sudden small smile was enough for her to know that Eileen's tactic had worked, and that was clearly why Eileen was Petunia's best mate— she knew just what to say to make Petunia feel better. Petunia and Marge pushed them all to talk about everything for the wedding, from the color of shoes to hairstyles to the actual wedding procession. Lily felt utterly drained from the whole experience. If she had ever thought she was a perfectionist, her sister was that ten times over. Not to mention that anything Lily said was debated over profusely and usually discarded. This caused her to just nod and smile at their ideas instead of offering any more of her own. By the time she got in the car for the ride home, she wanted nothing more than to sink into James' arms and make the horrible day go away.

Petunia talked to her snootily the whole way home, trying to provoke her into fighting back or something, but Lily really didn't have the energy for it. Her day had been long enough. Instead, she merely listened as Petunia mentioned how Vernon had bought her more beautiful jewelry than what James had gotten her, how Vernon was letting her do whatever she wanted for the wedding, how Vernon was going places, and how she would always have stability in her life. Lily began to get the distinct impression that Petunia thought James would never provide those things for her and that she was not a fan of their relationship. If she only knew how wonderful James really was. Lily couldn't stop the small smile that crept across her face as she imagined just how nice a life with him would be like.

When they walked back into the house, Lily was pleasantly surprised to see her mother and James smiling together and talking animatedly in the kitchen. His hazel eyes seemed to gravitate to her when they walked in, and he immediately came over to greet her. "Hey, you. How was the dress fitting…" He kissed her cheek and hugged her in the middle of his question, and she heard him mumble the rest into her ear, "…for the horrid and disgusting pink dress from hell?"

Lily bit her lip to keep from laughing. He was clearly in a rather good mood. She loved that he could instantly make her feel better. "It was great. Mum, the dresses Petunia picked are very pretty."

Mrs. Evans nodded, and Lily was sure she was smiling way more than necessary. "Oh, aren't they? I thought the same thing! Petunia, dear, Vernon called while you were out, and I invited him to have dinner here at the house so you girls go get cleaned up. James can help me finish up down here. Lily, he said you'd be happy to know that he can actually cook rather well."

Lily chuckled at her boyfriend. "Is that so?"

He nodded, grinning wickedly and looking quite proud of himself. "My Mum taught me more than just how to dance."

Lily smiled at him. That was one of the first times he had mentioned his parents without looking sad in the slightest. "This I'll have to see."

Lily walked up to her room with Petunia. Petunia did not look happy about staying for dinner nor did she seem to appreciate that Lily was all smiles, but at least they weren't fighting. Lily assumed that was an improvement in some ways. Lily washed up and got a lot of her things together for tomorrow before heading back downstairs.

Awkward. That was the only word that could be used to describe the six of them all eating dinner at the same table. Both Mr. and Mrs. Evans tried to lead discussion so that everyone was included, but things just fell rather flat. Vernon was oblivious, smiling and thinking that everything was perfect. Petunia looked aggravated when Vernon complimented the meal, only for Mrs. Evans to include that James should get some of the credit for helping her so much. James and Lily remained fairly quiet. Lily looked uneasy, like she was afraid of slipping up, but James looked relaxed, leaving his arm behind her chair with his fingers grazing the back of her neck every once and a while to relax her. It was easier to do this because she had pulled her red hair up into a ponytail for once.

Vernon was talking animatedly about his father's drill business that had just been handed over to him because his father had retired, making him the new director over at some place called Grunnings. Mrs. Evans looked happy for him. "Why, that's wonderful, dear. I'm sure your father is very proud."

Vernon looked on, pleased from the compliment. "Yes, yes. He's very proud, but I like to think I know a bit more about drills than he does, you know— a new generation and all. I think this change will be very good for the firm."

Petunia nodded. "His father does seem a bit troubled and behind the times so we both think retirement will suit him much better."

Vernon then began rattling on and off about his father and his plans with the new company when Petunia randomly interrupted him in a somewhat disdainful voice, "James, _you've_ never mentioned anything about _your_ parents."

Lily felt James instantly tense around her, and her hand jerked, causing her to hit her glass of juice. It would've spilt all over the table if James hadn't reacted immediately with his left hand out in front of him, wandlessly righting the glass. Vernon was looking at Petunia from her interruption, but everyone else watched in amazement as Lily's glass instantly righted itself and the liquid that had started flying everywhere was somehow pulled back into the cup. It was clearly conscious wandless magic, something Lily had never done before. Petunia's eyes were huge, and James quickly reached out to touch the glass when he realized he shouldn't have done any magic just as Vernon turned to see what Petunia was gawking so incredulously at. James just smiled sheepishly, never missing a beat, "Oh, wow. I'm surprised I caught that in time, Lils."

Petunia was glaring at Lily for having James almost expose everything to Vernon, but then her face smirked a bit. For both James and Lily to act odd at the mention of his parents, there had to be something there. Mrs. Evans immediately tried to diffuse the situation because she knew the unfortunate circumstances surrounding James' parents. "Yes, umm, what were you saying, Vernon?"

But Vernon gestured to Petunia. "No, I believe Petunia had asked a question."

Petunia smiled evilly. "I had just asked about James' parents is all."

James looked to Lily, who was now glaring fiercely at Petunia. He gently placed his hand on her upper back, trying to wandlessly use a calming charm and a cheering charm. He didn't want her to fly off the handle just for him. It seemed to have worked because Lily's face relaxed a bit. He then turned back to her sister with a sigh. "Both of my parents passed away last fall."

Whatever Petunia had been expecting, it hadn't been that. Now she actually felt kind of bad. "Oh, I'm sorry."

James waved off her apology. He figured that was the first time he had ever seen her look sincere. "It's ok. It's been a while now. I'm slowly getting used to the idea."

Lily was eyeing him with slight concern because she wasn't really buying his story. Vernon, however, remained oblivious. "That's too bad. My mother passed a few years ago. Heart attack. What did they use to do?"

James looked down absently and picked at a spot on his jumper, relaxing some when Lily placed her hand on his leg comfortingly. "They were…police officers. They were killed in the line of duty."

Vernon looked curious. "I don't remember hearing about that in the paper."

James shrugged. "It was kept very low-key."

Lily immediately interrupted the conversation, keen on moving the discussion away from this topic. His parents' deaths, no— murders— had been _anything_ but low-key. Not to mention, it should be obvious to any decent human being that this was not something James wanted to talk about. "Yes, well, now you know. Mum, what were you saying about Petunia's wedding earlier? Something about finding the perfect church the other day?"

Mrs. Evans took the opening and continued discussing Petunia's wedding. Petunia had glanced at her sister, knowing about her deviation. She didn't say anything though. She understood why her sister had done it. She watched her sister and James talking quietly together, glad that all seemed to be ok. She hadn't meant to bring up something like that. She really had just wanted to make him look dumb. She sighed inwardly and moved on to answer her mother's questions about the wedding as they were asked. After all, it was a much worthier topic of conversation anyway.

The rest of the dinner's conversation centered around the wedding, and Petunia and Vernon finally left shortly after everyone had finished. Mrs. Evans immediately apologized to James about earlier, but he shrugged it off with a smile, even telling them a bit more about his parents. Lily could tell he was still a little uncomfortable about it, but he did look like he was taking everything better.

When the two of them had finally been left alone, lounging out in the living room, Lily asked him about it once more, "You're sure you're ok? She only did that to get at me… She sort of called me out for doing magic while I was in the dressing room earlier today, and then she was mad about your necklace, which her best mate happened to like. It had nothing to do with you."

He chuckled and pulled her closer to him, kissing the side of her head. "Lily, I swear to you that I'm fine. Petunia actually felt really bad about saying it in the first place so her apology was very real. Besides, I can at least still talk to them if I have a question. I have gotten sort of used to them not being around in body, even if I wish it were different. It would be harder if I didn't have portraits of them, I think. So what did you do in the dressing room earlier today that got her so hacked off?"

She finally was satisfied with his story, especially since she knew that he could never lie to her and he had just spoken so blatantly to her while looking into her eyes. "Well, she, well really, Marge, Vernon's sister, sent us to try our dresses on so Petunia could look at us all dressed together and we could discuss shoes, hairstyles, etc. Now the dresses are very pretty, sure, but they're still this pale _pink_ color that looks completely ridiculous with my hair so when I tried it on, I immediately thought that it would look better in green, and then, it _changed_!"

James laughed at her astonished expression. She was so adorable. "You used wandless magic. Impressive."

Lily nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Yup. Well, after I fixed the little accident, I remembered what you had said before about transfiguring my hair and also how it had looked the last few days so I was messing around with that when she suddenly yelled at me to hurry up. When I got out there, it became pretty obvious, at least to her, that I was probably messing around with magic, which she didn't like."

He kissed her lips gently. "Well, don't worry about it. I'm sure you looked beautiful anyway, even with the pink."

Lily made a face before resting her head on his shoulder. "Doubtful."

He chuckled. "No, not doubtful. A guarantee."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24 – Private Longing

James scowled to himself as he rounded the corner of one of the Hogwarts corridors, leaving Lily to talk in private with Snape for the seventh time that week— not that he was counting. He just did not feel comfortable with Lily being alone with him. While he was mainly concerned for her well-being because Snape was a Slytherin and unpredictable, he had to admit that there was a hint of jealousy in there as well. Snape knew way more about Potions than he ever would, something Lily very much enjoyed. James was not about to begrudge Lily a friendship with the guy if that was what she wanted, considering their shared interest, but he also didn't want Snape getting any ideas.

Although James knew that Lily felt nothing for the guy in that way, he was beginning to get the distinct vibe from Snape that HE may actually like Lily in a more romantic way. This seemed, of course, ridiculous, considering the way Snape used to treat her, the names he used to call her, and the fact that he was still a Slytherin who despised muggleborns. But James was pretty sure he wasn't wrong. He hadn't mentioned any of this to Lily yet for fear that she may get upset over him being somewhat jealous over not trusting her when it was really Snape he didn't trust, but there had been signs. Snape always gave him this sort of satisfied smirk when Lily would walk away from him. This was further exemplified by Snape approaching Lily only when the two of them were together, almost on purpose. It was like Snape enjoyed having some sort of leverage over him because he could pull Lily away at any moment. James would probably bring it up at some point.

He shook his head as he forced himself to calm down. It wasn't Lily's fault. She was just way too kind for her own good. She always tried to find the good in people. James could not see how she could find anything good about Snape, but she had insisted that he had been nothing but polite to her in these encounters. She had told him cheekily with that teasing smile of hers that she could take care of herself, and if Snape ever called her the-word-that-James-would-hex-him-into-the-next-universe-for, she would stop conversing with him. But so far, nothing had happened. James would respect her wishes. As it was, none of these encounters had lasted more than fifteen minutes or so, and they were just regarding Potions. Besides, Lily always came immediately back to his side after she spoke with Snape. She spent all of her free time with James by choice, smiled her pretty smile at him, snogged him, made love to him, and slept in his bed.

James had no idea why this was bothering him so much. He supposed he was just worried about her. He loved her with his whole heart, and if anything ever happened to her, he was sure he would go stark raving mad. There wouldn't be anything left to identify Snape with if he harmed one hair on her head.

He quickly made his way down towards the Gryffindor common room. Their group had been meeting there to study together since they could be as noisy as they wanted, unlike in the library (both he and Sirius were prone to being kicked out as they had learned when they had been studying for their OWLs back in fifth year). With NEWTs around the corner, Lily, Christina, and Remus had forced them all to get a move on, outlining their notes from the last two years plus all the information from their OWLs. He didn't really have a problem with this; as much as he played it off, he _did_ actually care about his grades. Sirius, as much as he also pretended not to care, was just as interested in doing well on his NEWTs so he had been cracking fewer jokes about studying for once. Peter was just along for the ride.

He frowned when he thought about Peter. He had been acting weird when they all had returned from Spring Break, almost jumpy. Peter was normally pretty laid back, but he had come back from Spring Break in Ireland with his family not exactly forthcoming with details like he usually was. Maybe he was just worried about his NEWTs. James rolled his eyes. It was a given that Peter only did as well as he did because he, Sirius, and Remus all helped him. He supposed NEWT preparation would be no different.

Remus had been quiet over the past week, unless he was discussing NEWT stuff. Both he and Sirius had finally coaxed the problem out of him. Apparently, he had fought with Sophie the first day back at classes. She had known about their trip to Miami, but Remus was looking a bit sickly that first day back, and she had been concerned. He had run out of the potion that Lily had made for him so his recovery after his full moon experience the few days before hadn't been as quick as it could've been. Sophie didn't buy his excuse about him being sick because his mother had been sick or whatever lame excuse he had come up with. James felt for him, but lying to a female that knew you and your mannerisms was not wise. It made him wonder if Sophie had figured it out and was just waiting for Remus to be honest and forthcoming about it with her. That would be a female thing to do. Needless to say, Sophie had told him that until he decided to fess up to whatever was really troubling him, he should forget talking to her. Remus had been crushed, but no matter how much James and Sirius had tried to get him to just mention his furry little problem and be honest with her, Remus hadn't budged. James couldn't help but shake his head at Remus' familiar stubborn resolve. It must be a Gryffindor trait, considering he could identify the same trait within most of their group.

He climbed a few stairs before rounding in front of the Gryffindor portrait. He gave the Fat Lady his charming smile. "Amortentia."

She gave him a sweet smile and a wink before opening the portrait to let him inside. He immediately plopped down on the far armchair, pulling out his things with a sigh. "Hey, guys."

Christina looked at him curiously. "Where's Lily?"

James frowned, not wanting to think about where Lily was. "She's coming."

Christina understood immediately and rolled her eyes into her homework. She had already told Lily that Snape was trying to pull something with her, and she should just leave him alone, but Lily had stood her ground. She was so stubborn sometimes. Christina sighed as she twirled her quill and squinted into her Arithmancy textbook. "That girl. Snape is pulling something. I know it."

James nodded, but refrained from expressing his own disdain over the situation. He turned to Remus and Sirius, who were arguing over whether or not certain transfiguration techniques were better when acting in defensive or in offensive situations in combat. "Will you two quit already? That's not going to be in the DADA NEWT. Sirius, that stuff will be more appropriate if we were in Auror training right now. Relax already."

Sirius rolled his eyes, but went back to his reading, ultimately leaving the topic alone. James pulled out his DADA stuff as well, but was distracted a few minutes later when he heard the portrait open up. He smiled when he saw his beautiful girlfriend emerge. She returned his grin, somewhat apologetically. "Hey. Sorry about that."

James just shrugged. Lily came over and kissed him on the lips briefly before sitting on the floor in front of him so she could use the coffee table with Remus and Sirius. Christina gave her a look, clearly expressing her disapproval over her conversing with the Slytherin. "So what did the miscreant want this time, Lily?"

The boys all snickered while Lily sighed. "Just some more Potions questions. I don't know why he asks me some of these questions though. He could probably figure the answers out by himself. He's really good at Potions without my help."

James ran a hand through her silky red hair. "You're too nice, Lils."

She turned, looking up at him with her pretty smile. "That's _not_ a bad thing, James."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "No, but it can be naïve. Snape is not exactly Mr. Nice Guy. And why is he suddenly being so nice to you? Don't you find it a little weird? This is the guy who used to call you…names."

James' face darkened at Sirius' words, but he held his tongue. He and Lily had bickered some about that same topic last night. Lily gave Sirius a look as she continued to fuss over her notes. "He hasn't all year, for once. I don't know. I'm just not going to outwardly be mean unless he does something, ok?"

Sirius shrugged, and flipped to a different section of his textbook. "Whatever you say, Red."

Lily frowned as she tried to focus on her DADA notes. It wasn't as if she was completely oblivious to the possible concerns regarding her interactions with Severus, and she was being cautious about it. She had never allowed him to take her anywhere; they had always remained out in the hallway. He had been nothing but polite thus far, even apologizing for some of the things he had called her before. She did think his sudden change of heart was a little odd; hence her caution. She leaned back against James' legs, closing her eyes briefly. Just that small hint of contact from him made her feel better. She felt bad for James because she knew that all of his comments regarding the issue were only because he was worried about her. It just made her love him more though. He could be a complete ass about everything, but instead, he knew that she could take care of herself even if he didn't like it and let her be. She forced herself to read through a few passages regarding the Shield Charm, instantly smiling when she felt James absently begin playing with a few strands of her hair as he read quietly behind her. She was sure he wasn't even aware he was doing it.

It may have been an hour or two, but soon the portrait opened again to reveal Professor McGonagall. Everyone in the common room immediately turned, giving her attention. She had only made her way inside the Gryffindor common room a handful of times during the year. She gave them her usual tight-lipped smile. "So I see a number of seventh years, but if two of you would be so kind to round up the others, it would be most appreciated."

Remus and Lily had been the first to get up so they headed up to each of the dorms, soon coming back down with a few others— Remus with Frank Longbottom and Thomas Pent and Lily with Alice Payton, Marnee Clark, and Natalie Kotov. As soon as all the seventh years had gathered, Marnee gave Lily a disdainful look before turning to Professor McGonagall her face all sweet and innocent, "What can we do for you, Professor?"

Professor McGonagall just bristled. "Well, it's once again time for job applications to begin. I'm here to let you know that you can all begin the application process. All necessary materials will be available here in the common room as well as in my office. If any of you have any questions about anything, what a particular job may be looking for, what should be filled out for a particular job, or if you have any questions about what a particular job entails, I want you all to feel free to come to me or another professor of your choosing."

Remus frowned. "What about our NEWTs? I thought we had to take them first?"

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Yes, they are very necessary, but your scores will be automatically mailed out to those jobs you have applied for after they have been taken. The jobs you seek will have advance notice of your interest in the various positions through the applications, which can lead them to do a preliminary evaluation before NEWT scores even arrive. I would recommend applying to _all_ jobs you have considered. It would be better to get multiple offers than to be rejected for the only job you applied for. Most places do not have an on-going hiring process so the next time to apply would be a year from now. I suggest you all get on top of this BEFORE NEWTs are upon us. I want you all to do your very best on them, something I know that you are all capable of, so I don't want you all to be worrying about job applications at the same time."

After a few more questions about certain application procedures, Professor McGonagall left them to their own devices once more, although she asked both James and Sirius to follow her out into the corridor before departing. James furrowed his brow as he got up to follow her and Sirius just outside the portrait. He supposed he should apply to more than just the Auror Division then, although he had no clue as to what. Sirius smiled wickedly at their Professor when she stopped. "So…what's up, Minnie?"

James snickered a bit, but stopped when he saw Professor McGonagall shoot him a disapproving glare. She tsk tsked at Sirius with her classic stern expression. "That'll be enough, Black. Now, I just wanted to let you two know that quidditch scouts also start making their rounds to the final matches of the season at most wizarding schools, meaning that they will likely be in the audience for the last match. I have had a few letters regarding the both of you so I just wanted to let you both know that if either of you had any interest, I'm sure a few scouts may want to discuss some things with you about quidditch recruitment after the final match. Do either of you have an interest?"

James shrugged and shook his head. "Not really for me, Professor. I mean, quidditch is great, don't get me wrong, but I've never really thought of making a career out of it."

Sirius nodded toward James, looking thoughtful for once. "Yeah, me too. I suppose it would be rude to not hear them out if they want to chat, but I've never really been interested in playing professionally either."

Professor McGonagall nodded with a hint of a smile. She really did enjoy the two boys, even if they were both quite the handful. "I surmised as much, but just wanted confirmation. Let me know if either of you need help with your Auror applications. Those will be the most difficult, and I should submit a letter with them as to your extended knowledge regarding Transfiguration under what we could call an independent study."

James and Sirius both nodded before they watched her walk briskly off towards her office. James looked to Sirius. "So what else are you applying for besides the Auror Division?"

Sirius frowned. "I don't know. I hadn't planned on anything else."

James sighed wearily. "Yeah, I know. Me either."

Apparently, they were going to have to a little more reading about job possibilities along with doing their regular homework, NEWT preparation, and many quidditch practices. James also wanted to spend time with Lily and had patrol. After finally realizing what kind of schedule lay in front of him, James missed Spring Break quite a bit.

James was vaguely aware of movement around him, and he was sure he had just heard the woosh of a spell or two being cast near him. His brow furrowed slightly as he fought to not wake up. Wait, why did his mouth suddenly taste all minty?

All his questions were answered when he suddenly felt a comfortable weight sitting on top of him, and a very familiar set of lips gracing his own in a way that made him stop thinking about anything at all while at the same time waking him up completely. One of his hands immediately reached up into Lily's hair while the other wrapped around her back to pull her body down against his. She kissed him deeply for a while, and when she finally pulled back slightly, he heard her laugh softly. "Good morning, birthday boy."

James grinned up at his beautiful girlfriend, loving to see her green eyes twinkling mischievously and her radiant smile beaming down at him. It was the following Thursday already? He had been way too busy over the last week. There had been job applications, NEWT preparation, and he was positive he had scheduled too many quidditch practices (he really just wanted to win the Cup for the second year in a row). He couldn't believe he had forgot that it was his birthday today. "Screw my birthday. You can wake me up like that any day you want."

Lily laughed, and he pulled her down closer to him once more so he could kiss her again. She broke the kiss though, still giggling as he kissed down her neck some. "So do you want your present now?"

He rolled them over so he was now lying on top of her and chuckled into her neck. "I'd rather unwrap _this_ present."

Lily bit her lip to keep from moaning as she felt James' mouth latch onto her collarbone as his hands wandered up her thin camisole, his fingers grazing gently over her bare skin. Suddenly, skiving off classes that morning sounded really good. "James…we do not have time for that sort of thing."

He nodded slightly before turning his attention to her lips, kissing them softly. "I know."

He was making no real effort to move though so she reached out to grab his wand off of his desk, summoning the gift she had hid in his room a couple of days before. He looked surprised at the wrapped package. "When did you find time to get me anything anyway?"

Lily rolled her eyes with a smile. "What do you think I do while you're off playing quidditch all the time?"

He leaned down to kiss her lips one more time before finally sitting and pulling her up next to him. "Guess I never thought about it."

She nodded and watched him with a smile as he unwrapped his gift. His face was one of complete surprise when he finally saw his present before his wide and happy grin appeared. "Lily, baby, you did not have to get me a watch. They're so expensive. I was just going to buy a new one when we went to Hogsmeade this weekend."

Lily pushed at him playfully while she scolded him, "No way. I found this one for you, and I wanted to get you one. Besides, I had fun doing all these extra things to it for you."

His eyes were twinkling. "You did extra things to my watch for me?"

Lily nodded with a smile, pulling it out of the box for him. It was similar in looks to his old one, which was one of the reasons she had picked it out of the owl-order catalog. She pointed to the watch as she spoke, "Yup. Now, I obviously had to talk with Lauren and Dumbledore about some of the features your old watch used to have, and he helped me set up the same portkey function with the 12 so you can portkey to your room at Potter Manor at any time. I also asked him to set up the location or tracking charm that you had placed on the watch and Lauren's necklace again, that's number 9, and then had him set up the same thing between the watch and my necklace, that's number 3."

James was staring at her, smiling brightly. She was amazing. "This is amazing. I can't believe you did all of this. I love you."

Lily blushed, enjoying the way he was staring at her. He looked incredibly happy. "Oh, stop. I love you too, but I'm not done. There's one more thing…my favorite actually. This took a lot of work, more than I thought it would, but I eventually was able to figure out how to get it to work properly."

James looked on incredulously as she pushed the 6 button. His mouth dropped open in shock. The face of his watch had dissolved and in its place were the same 12 ticks, but with tiny words written beneath them. The 12 spot was 'home,' and then going clockwise, it continued with 'reading,' 'school,' 'thinking about me,' 'work,' 'traveling,' 'shopping,' 'with the girls,' 'moody,' 'hospital,' 'mortal peril,' and 'dead.' In the middle, the watch hands had merged and now held a tiny moving picture of Lily, which blew a kiss up at him, and was resting near number 3, 'thinking about me.' That made him smile. "Merlin! I heard about these, but this is unbelievable! You were able to do this all by yourself? This is just…wow."

Lily loved looking at the happy expression on his face. "Well, it's just a complicated tracking charm really, but the set up was what took the longest, and I'm guaranteeing it's the reason why not many people try to do it. I'm glad you like it."

James wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lips. "Like it? I love it! You're so amazing, and I love you."

Lily chuckled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you too. Happy birthday."

James leaned down and captured her lips for a few more blissful seconds before reluctantly squinting at the clock on his desk behind her. "Ugh. We're going to have to hurry now. You go get your adorable self ready so we can actually manage to get to breakfast before it ends."

She nodded with a sigh, and soon made her way quickly over to her room to get ready. James hurriedly threw on his uniform and got ready himself, slipping his new watch on his wrist. He smiled when he noticed the Lily hand still resting on 'thinking about me.' He pushed the 6 spot once again and the face of the watch reappeared. Already, it was shaping up to be the best birthday ever. He jumped when he heard a crack in his room, but was relieved when it was only Reeny. "Hi, Reeny."

She was beaming with her big blue eyes sparkling up at him. "Happy birthday, James! Reeny wanted James to knows that Master Andrew, Miss Judy, Master Harry, Miss

Aimee, Master Jacob, and Miss Amelia all wish James a happy birthday as well."

James smiled. "Thank you. You can tell them I said that, ok?"

Reeny nodded, still smiling, and snapped her fingers before disappearing with another crack. James sighed as he grabbed all of his things, tossing his satchel strap over his shoulder before heading out into the common room to meet Lily. Her door was open so he approached it, standing just to the side of her doorframe. Lily was standing in her school uniform, packing her satchel hurriedly near her bed. James enjoyed watching her move around quickly in her short skirt and tight-fitted, short-sleeved blouse for the moment, her tie and long red hair flipping around as she moved about. He would enjoy the moment more if he could actually have his arms around her amazing body, but that would have to wait until later. She eventually threw on her school robe and grabbed her satchel before coming out to meet him. She smiled up at him before looking at him curiously. "What?"

He ran his hand through her silky red hair before offering her his arm. "Nothing. You're beautiful."

She chuckled and took his arm, pulling him toward the sphinx. "You were thinking naughty things about me."

He looked over at her in surprise. He didn't know she could tell that from him. "What ever would give you such an idea?"

Lily laughed wickedly. "Not telling. What was the line? Oh yeah— trade secret."

He humphed. "Whatever. I can think that way about you. You're my girlfriend, you're beautiful, and I love you. Besides, it's my birthday. I'm forgiven for everything."

She continued to giggle quietly to herself as they walked through the corridor and down the stairs toward the Great Hall before looking back up at him mischievously. She spoke quietly, "Would you like another dirty thought to think about for the day?"

James could tell she was scheming about something. Her bright green eyes gave her away every time. He smiled devilishly at her. He could play her game. "I'm intrigued."

She grinned evilly and tugged him lower so she could whisper into his ear, "I'm not wearing any knickers."

James' face immediately pained. She knew exactly what she was doing to him in this moment. Automatically, he thought about the day ahead of him, and he wouldn't get to be completely alone with her with enough time to take advantage of such a situation until after their patrol that evening. The day was going to be unbearable. "You saucy minx. You are so evil to me."

Lily simply nodded her head, still smiling her pretty smile and her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Yup."

He sighed and opened the door to the Great Hall door for her. They eventually sat down with the rest of the Marauders, Lauren, and Christina. Birthday stuff was thrown around, and James received more than enough magical jokes and tricks to make the day more interesting, even if all he was really thinking about was Lily in less clothes at the moment. "Thanks, guys. What do you say about using the lot and causing some ruckus today?"

Sirius laughed wickedly. "What do you have in mind, Prongs?"

Lily shot them both a look before speaking warily, "Boys…"

James stopped her, giving her his best puppy dog expression. "No injuring, no humiliation. I promise."

She eventually just sighed and went back to her breakfast. She knew they would never lie low on his birthday. Last year, it had been a practical joke galore. Damn him and those eyes. "Fine."

James kissed her cheek, and his eyes happily turned back to Sirius. "Well, we could do that one thing…"

Sirius' eyes widened. "Yeah, and that will go well with…"

James smirked. "I forgot about that, but yeah…"

Remus gave them both a look. "But what about…"

Sirius waved his hand at him. "Nah, we have the other thing for that…"

Remus nodded and went back to his breakfast. James looked at Sirius with a sneaky smile. "When do you want to do the one thing? Lunch?"

Lily, Christina, and Lauren were all looking at them incredulously. Were they really talking like…_girls_? Lauren eventually shrugged and went back to her breakfast. However, Christina continued to look at Sirius curiously and nudged him. "What are you guys planning?"

Sirius gave her a mischievous look. "You'll see." He turned back to James. "You talk to Lolly and work out the lunch plan. She likes you more than me. Who's going to be our main target for the other thing? It'll be more fun when there's only one person."

James looked around the Great Hall. He would love nothing more for it to be Snape, but that wasn't a good idea right now. He settled on a particularly fun target. "Dan?"

Lauren immediately looked over at him at the mention of her sort of ex-boyfriend, clearly not amused. "Jimmy, tell us what you are doing already."

Sirius laughed. "No, we need him at practice tonight so let's not alienate him. Hmmm, let me think for a moment."

James shrugged, still looking around. "Anyone you don't like, Lils?"

Lily laughed some. "No, James, and this is sounding more and more like humiliation so you better explain yourselves."

James shook his head, smiling. "Nope, it's not, and I've got the perfect person. McGonagall."

Everyone's jaw dropped. The girls looked horrified, but the guys were now all looking on brightly. Sirius nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yeah. That's _perfect_!"

Remus was even smiling some for once. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Padfoot."

Sirius looked satisfied. "Thank you, Moony."

Peter nodded, but was looking more like the girls. "Are you sure we won't get in more trouble than usual for that?"

Sirius shook his head with a cocky glint to his eyes. "Nah, Wormy. Probably about the same, if we're caught that is."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Will you tell us already?"

James snickered a bit before whispering huskily into her ear, "We're taking a leaf out of your book and vanishing McGonagall's knickers."

Lily immediately blushed and had to take a moment to remember to breathe, leaving everyone wondering what James had said to make her so embarrassed. She would get him back for his teasing later, but she had to say something before he got himself in heaps of trouble, "You are _not_! She'll make your lives miserable!"

Sirius laughed, his grey eyes clearly amused. He obviously had no qualms with getting caught. "But it'll be funny, Red."

Christina nudged Sirius again, eager to hear the prank too. "So?"

Sirius chuckled quietly and whispered the plan for McGonagall into her ear. Christina didn't blush, but she also looked shocked. "You can't do that!"

Lee Rogers walked over to the table just then, looking on warily at the group. "Hey, guys. I was wondering if I could steal my _girlfriend_ away for a bit."

Lily looked over at him curiously. He had emphasized the word girlfriend just slightly. Christina, however, rolled her eyes. "Lee, I _told_ you I would see you at lunch. We all have to get a move on if we don't want to be late for Herbology anyway. You have Charms on the other side of the school, remember?"

She started collecting her things, and everyone else followed suit. Lily wasn't oblivious to the furious look Lee was now giving Christina so she knew she would be talking with her best mate about this at her first chance. They were just about to leave the table when James smacked his forehead. "Oh yeah."

He suddenly waved his wand around a few times at some of the jokes and stuff left out on the table before everything disappeared. He smiled in satisfaction. "Yes, today will definitely be amusing."

They were walking hurriedly to class, when Lily heard a voice behind her, "Lily."

She turned slightly with James, considering she was holding onto his arm like usual. She forced a small smile to be polite. "What is it, Severus? We have to get to class and so do you."

Severus looked around at the group with Lily, quietly pleased to see them all so upset with him interrupting. Potter looked distinctly pissed off, Black had a look of loathing, and the rest of them were looking at him with disapproval. It didn't matter though because Lily was smiling at him. That made him feel amazing. "Just one quick question."

Lily sighed and walked towards him slightly while she waved her wand at her side. "What is it? I silenced the area so they can't hear, which is ridiculous anyway, considering you have a question about Potions, which they all take— well, except Peter."

Severus was inwardly pissed that she hadn't walked away with him like she usually did. He would not interrupt her with this many people around again. He immediately asked her about some of the potions they had been discussing in class so she wouldn't be suspicious before walking on his way. Lily turned back towards the group, frowning, after she got rid of the silencing charm. "Ok, that was the oddest he's ever been."

James shrugged and kissed her forehead. "Come on, let's get going, or we'll be late."

The day immediately dulled with the never-ending classes as they all were trying to review as much material as possible for the upcoming NEWTs. However, there were intermittent moments with students getting shocked from switched quills and having switched ink pots explode in front of them— not to mention, the charmed textbooks that talked back at the teachers for misquoting, the chalk that wrote on the teacher's boards without their permission, and it was rather mysterious when a purple river suddenly appeared in the Charms hallway. James, meanwhile, was still thinking about his incredibly sexy and devious girlfriend, who continued to tease him all day, crossing her legs on purpose so her long and bare legs could clearly be seen when she was sitting next to him, giving him a particular look every once in a while that let him know she knew exactly what he was thinking about, and how she would go out of her way to whisper taunting remarks in his ear about it all day. When she wasn't sitting next to him, his new watch still let him know that she was thinking about him though, which made him happy.

Lunch was equally entertaining, considering he had asked Lolly, the head elf in the kitchens, to add some potions he had gotten from the Marauders for his birthday and back in Miami to the pumpkin juice on the Slytherin table. He had had to assure Lolly that no one would be hurt or humiliated just as he had done for Lily before she had agreed to do it. The results were hilarious. There were hair color changes, hairstyle changes, the addition of giant freckles or severe acne, people acting like monkeys or other animals, and people singing muggle pop songs and dancing madly. The Slytherins were all upset, naturally, but it was worth it.

Transfiguration that afternoon turned out to be the hardest class to get through. About halfway through the class, James wandlessly vanished McGonagall's knickers. She stopped talking mid-thought, completely caught off-guard. She immediately looked at him and Sirius, but when he and Sirius happened to not be holding their wands at all, she paled considerably, probably wondering what the hell had happened. She continued to lecture, but was extremely flighty for the rest of class. The reason it was the hardest class to get through was because both he and Sirius had to keep a straight face throughout all of it so as to escape detention. Lily had looked at him at some point during her lecture, obviously realizing he had done the vanishing spell so he immediately wrote her a note, saying that he should try it with her some time on another day when she wasn't already teasing the hell out of him, using a switching spell to get it to her. Lily had given him a naughty look in return before using a switching spell to give him a reply, which told him that she liked it when he actually took them off instead. James forced himself to think about anything other than her and her reply for the rest of the class. It was extremely difficult.

After having the rest of their afternoon classes with similar intermittent catastrophes, James and Sirius, after their private transfiguration lesson with McGonagall which felt even longer since they had to behave, made their way into the Great Hall where it became clear to anyone that Christina was extremely pissed off about something. She looked to be shouting and was flailing her arms around herself, but the boys couldn't tell what was being said, most likely because of one of Lily's silencing charms. Lily was listening intently, although she smiled at James briefly as he sat down. James looked to Sirius. "Lee, you reckon?"

Sirius nodded, looking slightly afraid of the incredibly angry girl sitting close to him. "Only a man makes a woman that angry. It kind of reminds me of how Lily used to act around you."

James snickered. "Except I don't think Lee and Christina feel the same way about each other, or at least don't feel what Lily and I do for each other."

Sirius eyed him curiously. "You don't think so?"

James sighed. It wasn't his place to say anything, considering Lily had told him to keep quiet and keep out of their business. He had started to see some of what she had mentioned to him about Sirius possibly still liking Christina and the minor jealousy that Lee had for Sirius. He wasn't sure if he bought the whole thing yet, but Sirius' question was highly suggestive. "I'm not sure, but they do fight way more often than Lily and I do."

Sirius frowned, glancing briefly back at Christina, who seemed to have calmed down and was now looking at the table moodily as Lily was talking at her. "I suppose, but then, why are they still together? Girls don't want to fight usually."

James inwardly smiled. Yes, this was highly suggestive. "I don't know. You're asking me to understand women?"

Sirius gave him a look. "You understand Lily pretty well."

James laughed. "No, not really. I just know when to back off by reading her body language. I stare at her enough to figure that out at least. She wins all the time. That is the key to a successful relationship. I love her and wouldn't change a thing."

Sirius chuckled and shook his head. "You really are whipped, aren't you?"

James rolled his eyes amusedly. "Shut it."

The guys talked absently about quidditch practice that night until the girls broke free from the silencing charm. Lily immediately moved closer to James and kissed his cheek. "Hey."

Christina just seemed emotionally worn out. "Hey, boys."

Sirius looked at Christina slightly concerned. "You ok?"

She nodded her head wearily. "Yeah…just had a lot of stuff to yell about, I suppose."

Lily felt James nudge her meaningfully, but she hadn't needed him to. It was really cute to see Sirius acting all well, serious for once— and about a girl at that. She sighed dramatically at her best mate. "Yeah, thanks for that. My ears hurt."

Christina gave her a small smile. "Sorry."

Lily waved off her apology, smiling coyly. "I suppose it's payback for all those times I used to yell at you about James before his head deflated."

James gave her a look, although it didn't work very well because Lily's pretty green eyes were twinkling up at him. He sighed. He really was whipped. "I love you too, Lils."

They finished up dinner quickly before James and Sirius headed off for quidditch practice. It was terrible. No one seemed to be on their game at all. Dan was distracted about something the entire time and would roll his eyes at James or Sirius if they said anything to him. Celia and Mike were fighting over something ridiculous. Jake and Mike were both extremely tired, understandable with it being their OWL year. Hailey had been really quiet until she randomly started freaking out, ultimately bursting into tears. James had looked to Celia for help because she was the only other girl on the team, and she had rolled her eyes at him before pulling Hailey aside to figure out what had gotten her so upset. It became apparent that it was a stupid fourth year Ravenclaw boy by the name of Mitch Randall who had said something about her being an ice princess for not letting him explore her body more fully in a broom closet. All the boys immediately offered to right the situation for her, earning them a pretty smile from the still teary-eyed girl. James and Sirius already decided, without even discussing it, that the prat was going to get pranked. It seemed the practice would get better from there, but James told them to just go since they only had twenty minutes or so left anyway.

He quickly made his way back to the Heads' Dorm so he could shower and go through some homework before the Heads' patrol because he wanted to take advantage of his beautiful girlfriend when they got back and didn't want something as trivial as homework to get in the way. However, as soon as he opened his bedroom door, he immediately became quiet. Lily was sleeping on his bed with a pile of books and notes around her. He smiled at the sight. Apparently, she had been working too hard if she was falling asleep early like this. He quietly placed his things down and went into his bathroom to shower. When he had thrown on his school uniform and school robe once more so they could go patrol, he went back into his room and sat on the edge of the bed. He gently ran his hand over his sleeping girlfriend's back. "Hey beautiful, you should wake up or you won't sleep at all tonight."

Lily grumbled for a moment, but then sat up instantly, clearly alarmed. "I fell asleep?"

James snickered and kissed her forehead. "Yep. Do you want to do a little homework with me before we go patrol?"

Lily frowned. "I guess I'm going to have to now. I can't believe I fell asleep."

The two of them got started on some of their homework, even though they really only had about twenty minutes to do anything. Before they knew it, they were out walking around the corridors, sending a few students here and there back to their common rooms. To James, it seemed like forever. When they finally made it back into their common room, he wrapped his arms around his beautiful girlfriend and whispered in her ear, "I finally get to have my wicked way with you, Lily love."

Lily giggled into his neck, enjoying having his arms around her, something she had wanted since that morning. "I suppose I would not be upset about that."

James captured her lips with his own for a few seconds, ultimately mumbling against them, "Good."

He gently reached down and hoisted her up under her bum so he was carrying her, and Lily didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around his neck and her legs around him as she continued to kiss him thoroughly. James eventually walked them into his bedroom, intending to make sure they both enjoyed themselves. If there was one person he wanted to spend the rest of his birthday with, it would be with the woman he loved.

The next afternoon, Lily sat down against one of the many tree trunks out on the Hogwarts courtyard and started to pull out some of her books. James and Sirius followed, sitting down on either side of her, but Sirius whined to the best of his ability, "Why are we studying again?"

Lily elbowed him and started scolding him while James snickered at his girlfriend getting the best out of his best mate. "You DO want to become an Auror, don't you? You need top grades for that. I know you're capable so you will study with us."

Sirius pouted at James. "Prongs, your girlfriend is being mean to me."

James rolled his eyes with a wry grin. "Shut it. What do you want to start with first? We've gone through our notes and stuff for DADA, Charms, and Transfiguration already. Potions or Herbology?"

Lily wrinkled her nose and frowned. "We've done some Potions already too so let's do Herbology. I don't think anyone wants to do Herbology."

Sirius was still pouting. "Ick. What jobs did you apply for, Red?"

Lily gave Sirius a look. "You just want to change the topic."

Sirius shook his head. "No, I was just curious. Besides, weren't we waiting for the others?"

James sighed. "Not really. Christina told Lily she was going to 'talk' with Lee about something, Remus told me that he was finally going to try and 'talk' with Sophie, Peter said he was sleepy, and Lauren's avoiding us, saying we're all crazy to start revising this early."

Lily nodded affirmatively to James' words. "And if you must know, I applied for the Dept. of International Magical Cooperation, the Dept. of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, the Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement, and…the Dept. of Mysteries. I didn't want to work with the Goblins so a Cursebreaker was out of the question."

Sirius looked impressed. "You'll get offers from all those places, Red. Besides the Auror Division, I did the Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement generally and then also the Dept. of Magical Games and Sports. If I don't get the Auror Division, I should get at least one of the others. I don't have the classes for anything else really."

They both looked to James, who smiled mischievously back at them. "Well, I did what you did, Padfoot, but I also applied to be a Cursebreaker for fun."

Lily chuckled. "You don't take Ancient Runes, James. They won't hire you."

James just laughed, his eyes twinkling. "If they can't get through the ward I placed on my application to throw it away, I'd say I might get hired anyway."

Lily shook her head at him with a teasing smile before turning back to Sirius. "So now can we start with Herbology? I know it's boring, but we need to get this done."

The boys grumbled a bit, but Lily knew they were just messing with her. They started slowly going through their notes, talking about other things as they went along. However, they stopped chatting when a familiar person sauntered in front of them with a smirk. "Lily, could I trouble you for a bit?"

The boys didn't say anything, but their looks pretty much said what they thought. Lily squeezed James' hand in reassurance that she would be fine before she got up to follow Severus. As they walked back towards the castle, Lily sighed. "What is it now, Severus?"

He gestured in front of him with his brow furrowed. "Well, I was working on this new potion, one I've been making myself. I want it to act like dreamless sleep, just without the side effects of feeling drowsy, weak, and disoriented after you wake up. I'm not sure it looks right though so I thought you would come and take a look."

Lily was still walking with him, but didn't feel as comfortable as they continued to walk further and further into the quiet castle. Nearly everyone was outside studying and whatnot before dinner because it was a beautiful day. She nodded slowly. "Well, dreamless sleep typically has a characteristic swirling steam when it's brewed properly, at least until it's cooled for use. I suppose you could add something like peppermint to add a little perk of energy to the potion so as to reduce the side effects you mentioned. I suppose you want to become a Healer if you're looking into something like this?"

Severus shrugged absently. "Not really."

They headed toward the dungeons where Slughorn's office, the Potions classroom, and some other potions drawing rooms were. He led her into one of the drawing rooms, but Lily lingered hesitantly by the door. She saw that he had set up two cauldrons and had a mixture of potions ingredients laid out. He turned to her with a wide, happy smile. "Come in already. You should start the potion too so we can do it together and see how it comes along. I like your idea about the peppermint, but we might want to try some other things too."

Lily stepped into the drawing room, but she now felt even more uncomfortable and wished she had taken James' concerns about him liking her to heart. It was becoming clear that he was expecting her to stay with him for quite some time, and he felt comfortable enough to think she'd want to. She really needed to stop being so nice sometimes. She especially didn't like the way he was looking at her and suddenly wished she was wearing her school robe to cover up some; she crossed her arms in front of her because that was all she could really do about it at the moment. She would have to come up with a way to leave without seeming too rude. "Ummm, Severus, I was busy studying. I don't have time to stay here and help you. I thought you had the potion finished so I could look at it. That's what you said on the way here. Perhaps you could show me another time when you're actually finished."

Severus frowned. "But you love Potions. Besides, you weren't really studying. You were just talking about nonsense when I walked up."

Lily eyed him warily. "I _was_ studying, and I was with my boyfriend and his best mate who I am also friends with. We are allowed to talk while we study."

Severus rolled his eyes, his anger over the two gits getting the better of him. "Please. I'm amazed you would be able to study anything with the likes of them. I could help you if you want. I know you want to ace your NEWTs."

Lily was getting angry. "Excuse me? Both of them are excellent students, even better than _you_. Why are you criticizing them? You know I'm not going to take it."

Severus was pissed. How could Lily be defending those daft idiots? She used to hate them just as much as he still did. It was ridiculous. "Come off it. Who knows why you're even hanging around with the two imbeciles, let alone dating the worst? I thought you hated them so what's the big deal?"

Lily's green eyes flared. "How dare you! I have been nothing but nice to you! James is my BOYFRIEND. Obviously, I don't hate him or Sirius. In fact, I never really did."

Severus scowled. It's not like she was in love with Potter. They clearly couldn't be that close. He stared at her smiling face all day long, and she had that same smile with or without Potter. Merlin, she smiled at _him_ every time they talked! She willingly walked away from Potter all the time for him too. He smirked at her, raising his eyebrows a bit. "Right, so then why have you been giving me so much of your time?"

Lily was furious. "I can't _believe_ you! I thought I saw something good, but I was incredibly wrong. Don't expect me to give you any more of my time."

And with that, she walked out of the room quickly. Severus immediately panicked and went after her. He _liked_ her. A lot. Why had he just pushed her too far? That whole conversation had gone completely wrong. "Wait!"

Lily didn't stop though, and instead, began jogging away some so she could get away from him more quickly. Severus immediately followed.

Meanwhile, James and Sirius watched Lily walk away with Snape, both with faces of utmost contempt. James sighed as he reluctantly pulled his eyes away from his retreating girlfriend, silently wishing she was wearing her school robe and not just her skirt and short-sleeved blouse and tie. It was bad enough that he was positive Snape liked her; James didn't need to know that he was probably enjoying the view of his girlfriend up close in her form-fitting clothing like he got to do. Sirius nudged him, breaking his dismal thoughts, and James was surprised to hear him speak seriously for once, "Lily knows that the git definitely likes her, right? She _has_ to know. It's getting a bit creepy."

James nodded half-heartedly. "I told her about it, but she wasn't as positive as you and I."

Sirius looked at him incredulously. "And you just let her walk away with him? Are you out of your mind?"

James gave him a look. "I'm _not_ happy about it, but I trust her. I know she doesn't like him like that. She had her wand out as they left. I've told her to be careful, just in case, regardless if she thinks everything is fine. She is a more than capable witch all by herself. There's nothing more I can do, Padfoot."

Sirius nodded wearily. "Tough luck, mate. Where'd he take her anyway?"

James shrugged and looked around. "They normally don't go too far…well, she knows to be careful. I don't want to talk about this anymore. Herbology?"

Sirius grunted. "I suppose."

The two of them worked quietly for a few minutes, but James started getting antsy when Lily didn't return right away. Sirius kept him distracted for a while, but the both of them immediately stopped talking when they saw a smoldering Lily come walking quickly back onto the courtyard. James was concerned. "Lily, what happened? Are you ok?"

She plopped down angrily between the two boys just as she had been previously. "I'm _never_ helping the git again. His arrogance tops yours, James, and I…" She broke off for a moment, looking uncomfortable, "…well, I think you both were right about him liking me."

James frowned. "What did he say? Why are you so upset?"

Lily sighed and relaxed some only when James placed his hand on her back comfortingly. "He took me all the way to a potions drawing room supposedly to look at an almost finished potion, but really expected me to stay and brew a potion with him for no reason at all, and then he criticized you both when I told him I was busy and planned on returning."

Sirius looked incredibly hopeful. "Are you _sure_ we can't hex him, Red?"

Lily shot him a look. "No, leave him be. He shouldn't bother me anymore."

Sirius pretended to be disappointed, but James just nodded and leaned down to her ear, "I'm sorry he turned out to be the prat you didn't want him to be. I love you."

Lily smiled up at him. "I love you too, James."

James ran his hand through her silky hair and kissed her forehead before he smiled mischievously at the two of them. "So…more Herbology before dinner?"

Sirius and Lily both nodded unenthusiastically at this prospect. However, Sirius gave the two of them a look when he noticed them both smiling giddily to themselves after saying 'I love you' to one another. "Just don't start snogging on me. Talk about gross."

That earned him a couple of smacks.

Severus followed Lily, but she didn't stop at any of his calls. He slowed to a walk and kicked at the corridor wall. How could he have been so stupid? He continued walking quickly toward the courtyard, hoping he might catch her before she made it back to Black and Potter. He rounded the corner and lingered a little, inconspicuously looking out towards where she had walked away from the prats. His eyes narrowed when he saw her already back with them, clearly venting, most likely about him. He would have to watch himself in case the Marauders decided to pull something funny on him. He couldn't help but notice that Lily had visibly relaxed while she was with the two idiots, but he became furious when Lily smiled back at Potter and he could tell distinctly what she had said to him.

_I love you too, James._

Severus felt shock like nothing else. She _loved_ Potter? When the hell did that happen? He stared at her all the time. It was ridiculous. Impossible. Beyond impossible. He was just going to turn away and go do something about his growing anger when he heard a familiar, cold voice taunting him, "Severus, are you going to give me an answer yet? The Dark Lord doesn't like to wait."

Severus turned to see Lucius swaggering with his superior, gloating smirk, his arm possessively around Narcissa's shoulders. Narcissa looked distinctly uncomfortable, but she was too weak and too proud to say anything against it. Severus knew the two of them had been betrothed earlier that year. This, of course, didn't stop Lucius from sleeping around with every pure-blooded female he could lay his hands on. All it meant was that Narcissa would have to give it up to him whenever he wanted. It didn't help that she was clearly one of the best looking pure-blooded females in Slytherin. Not fair really, in his opinion. If he hadn't been so hung up on Lily, he wouldn't have minded having Narcissa look at him. Severus turned his attention to the other side of Lucius where he saw Bellatrix wearing a similar smug expression, along with Charles Mulciber, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. So they were going to gang up on him now. He had told them he'd talk with them later. He also figured that if he could pull Lily away from Potter, he would take her away from all of this blood war crap that was going on. She wouldn't last a day, being muggleborn and all, but she was making it far worse for herself by attaching herself to a notorious blood traitor like Potter in the first place. Potter was already being actively targeted, last he heard. He frowned at the lot of them before speaking stubbornly, "I told you I would think about the offer. I'll let you know after the weekend."

And with that, he made his way back to the dungeons, most likely to wallow. He'd try and talk with Lily the next day in Hogsmeade. There would be too many people around for the Marauders to try anything. Lily would hear him out. She was too kind not to.

Severus growled in frustration as he kicked repeatedly at a tree to his right. He had just made his way through the streets of Hogsmeade for the third time, ultimately ending just off the path to the Shrieking Shack. It wasn't fair. He had been somewhat tailing Lily and Potter, along with their crew of friends, but he had lost them at some point. He had had to stay far behind them. Potter had been looking around way too much for him to get any closer without the git noticing straight away. He supposed that having your family murdered and being one of the biggest blood traitors ever would make anyone a little spooked and jumpy out in public. He smirked. Served him right.

He pushed his longer black hair out of his eyes moodily and leaned against the tree he had just been kicking, wallowing in self-pity. Lily looked beautiful today. She was wearing this long colorful skirt with a camisole and a dark jean jacket. Her long red hair had been left down, although it curled slightly at the bottom for once. He hated the fact that she would look so beautiful on the day he couldn't find her to talk with her. He longed to just catch a glimpse of her up close. It wasn't fair. He really wanted to apologize. Damn Potter for being way too observant and overly concerned in public. He just wanted to talk with Lily alone for five minutes. Was that really too much to ask?

He angrily pushed himself away from the tree he was leaning on, urging himself to just start walking back towards the castle. He had already been through Hogsmeade three times. He was never going to find her. He would have to hope to catch her at dinner that evening or just after. He would take the path he was on, which would ultimately reach the road that led back to Hogwarts. He could just apparate, but he really didn't want to run into Malfoy or Bellatrix just yet, and he knew they were up at the castle in the Slytherin common room discussing the Dark Lord with any willing fifth, sixth, or seventh year. He knew they were recruiting. It wasn't wise to say no, although that's what he was tempted to say at the moment. If he said no, he would have to leave the area immediately upon graduation. No one refused the Dark Lord. However, if anyone knew he had feelings for a muggleborn, his personal invite would probably be rescinded anyway. Luckily, no one was the wiser of his feelings— thanks to what few books he was able to find in Knockturn Alley and the little useful information his mother had given him when she wasn't shouting at him or being obscene with the many men that came through his house. He had learned to do Occlumency to great effect.

He knew he was brooding, but he didn't care. Life just wasn't fair to him. He pushed through a couple of trees, but paused when he heard a distinct feminine sigh to his far left. He brought out his wand, casting a silencing charm around him so he could look into the sound undetected. He froze unconsciously at the sight about forty feet from him. It was Lily.

Her eyes were closed, her face had the hint of a smile as she bit her lip, and her head was leaning back slightly. She seemed incredibly content for lack of a better word. Severus felt his pulse start to race at the sight. She looked undeniably beautiful. He couldn't stop himself from staring open-mouthed at her pretty face from behind the huge tree he had stopped behind. It was almost as if time had stopped. When she moaned softly, he felt himself harden at the sound. What he wouldn't give to hear that sound from her every moment of every day. When she finally opened her beautiful eyes looking down slightly in front of her, he was captivated by the fact that they had darkened in an incredibly sexy way.

However, the whole vision was ruined when he started to look at the total picture in front of him. A distinctly male hand reached into her hair, pulling her lips down onto his.

POTTER.

She was snogging POTTER.

Severus' ardor cooled instantly, with fury and rage replacing every feeling he had over the situation. She was sitting comfortably on HIS lap as HE rested against a tree, her dark jean jacket thrown off to the side. Her fingers were running through HIS dark hair. HIS hand was tangled in her long red hair while HIS other hand was sliding just underneath her camisole around her back. HE had been the one making her moan in pleasure while HE had kissed her neck. HE had been the one she was looking at sexily. HE was the one she wanted. She loved HIM.

Severus couldn't take it anymore, instantly apparating himself to the Hogwarts gates. He plowed through the grounds quickly and blindly in his fury, his black cloak billowing around him as he walked. How could she? What was so special about Potter anyway?

Something inside of him had finally snapped. She would never look at him like he looked at her. She would never be his. The loss hit him deep in his gut. He didn't even realize he had reached the Slytherin Dorm until he was suddenly standing in front of the familiar portrait. He scowled before mumbling gruffly, "Pure-blood."

The masked man in the portrait smirked at him smugly before letting him inside. Severus quickly made his way toward the stairwell, but stopped rigidly when he heard a loud throat-clearing in the common room. He turned sharply, looking on furiously. Malfoy didn't appear to notice or care about his apparent anger. Severus' black eyes surveyed him aggressively before they glanced briefly at Bellatrix, who had been standing off to the side chatting with her cousin, Regulus, and who now was looking gleefully between him and Malfoy. Severus was not in the mood though so he spat out, "What?"

Malfoy just smirked. "So?"

Severus stared back at him, feeling nothing but contempt for the whole lot of them. And yet, he no longer had anything to lose and had instead, everything to gain. Did he really want to up and leave after graduation for fear of getting killed for saying no to the Dark Lord, who had specifically asked for him and his expertise with potions? Did he really want to leave and completely give up on trying to win Lily, especially if he could eventually win her through force by using the Dark Lord? Did he really think those opposing the Dark Lord stood any chance at all?

He looked at the lot of them, furious with himself for what he was about to do, but this was about self-preservation. "Count me in."

He immediately turned and made his way up the boys' stairwell. He didn't care what their reactions were; in fact, he knew what they would be already. Malfoy would continue to smirk, Bellatrix would still be smug, and the rest of the Slytherins would all nod in approval. This was what was expected of him. He was a Slytherin after all. It was about time he forgot his flights of fancy and started acting like it.

Even if what he was doing was not what he wanted to be doing in the first place.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Gryffindors for the Cup

Lily smirked as she quietly observed her still sleeping boyfriend. She should have known better than to expect a wake up call on her birthday similar to what she had given him. He could never wake up early without setting an alarm.

She gently traced her fingers along his jaw line. He must've forgotten to do the charm for removing his facial hair the night before because he had a hint of scruff along his face this morning. She bit her lip to keep from smiling. He was so handsome. She sighed softly, causing James to tighten his arm around her unconsciously.

She was happy today was finally here. Sure, it was her eighteenth birthday, which was great, but the real reason for it being the best day ever was that the quidditch final was taking place today. No, she was not a huge fan of quidditch personally, but once the quidditch final was over, both Sirius and James would shut up and stop talking about quidditch every five seconds. _This_ was the reason why today was the best day ever.

Besides when James and Sirius had been at practices over the past week, she had heard nothing but quidditch statistics and the fact that they needed to win the match against Hufflepuff today by precisely 170 points in order to capture the Cup because the previous match against Ravenclaw had been too close of a win and the Slytherins had slaughtered both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff even though they had lost spectacularly to Gryffindor back in November. Lily smiled to herself a bit when she realized that was more information about quidditch than she had ever remembered before. At least no one had been injured the past week, not that the Slytherins hadn't tried. James had insisted that the whole quidditch team check and double check everything before they ate or drank and also told them not to walk anywhere alone, just in case.

Lily buried her face in James' neck, liking the fact that even in his sleep, he was running his hand over her back comfortingly. She also liked that it was Saturday morning and they could sleep in— well, _he_ could sleep in; she always tended to wake up early. It didn't really matter because she liked lying with him. After a few minutes though, she felt restless. She squirmed a bit to try and get comfortable once more, but James suddenly shifted and pushed her onto her back, pulling her close to him like he usually did. He kissed her cheek softly. "Happy birthday, beautiful."

She smiled at the sound of his sleepy voice. "Thanks, sexy. Are you going to get up now?"

He chuckled, but he didn't move. "Not yet. I'm comfortable."

Lily ran her fingers over his arm gently and pretended to whine, "But what about my _present_?"

He started to laugh at that and began tickling her sides mercilessly. Lily immediately started laughing herself from his vicious and unfair attack, considering he was already sort of resting on top of her. He eventually relented so she could breathe, but his arms tightened around her tiny frame, pulling her flush up against him, and he kissed the side of her neck. As she continued to giggle quietly in his arms, he whispered playfully into her ear, "I SUPPOSE you can have your presents, Lils."

He rolled them over so he was on his back and she was lying on top of him somewhat before reaching out his hand toward the armchair in his room. With a wave of his hand, there was a shimmer as something moved aside and the seemingly empty chair now held two presents. Lily looked down at him amused. "Your invisibility cloak?"

He pretended to look indignant. "You're always in my room! How was I supposed to hide anything?"

She chuckled and leaned down to kiss his lips softly. "You're sweet."

He just gave her his devilish grin in return. "Shhh…don't tell anybody."

She smacked him in his arm slightly, and James reached for his wand to summon the two presents over so he didn't have to get up. "Here you go, Lily love. Happy birthday. Open the bigger one first."

Lily sat up next to him, but he continued to lie where he was, running his hand over her back as she opened the larger gift. When she opened the box before her, her green eyes immediately sparkled down at him. "When did _you_, of all people, find time to do this? You're busier than anyone here. I imagine you used a pensieve again?"

James smiled at her. He loved seeing her look so happy. She was now thumbing through the huge photo album he had made for her with a pretty smile on her face. One of the things he had heard her complain about, since Christmas that is, was that no one ever seemed to take pictures of anything. He decided to do something about it. "Yes, I did. I was able to do it on an afternoon when I persuaded Christina to distract you for a bit…"

Lily leaned down and kissed him briefly. "This is wonderful! I was afraid I wouldn't have any pictures from this year."

He sat up next to her and pulled the album out of her hands, flipping through the pages and ultimately finding the one he was looking for. He pointed to it. "This one's my favorite."

Lily bit her lip as she smiled at the one he pointed to. It must've been just an ordinary day because she didn't really remember the exact moment, but she was sitting on his lap in one of the armchairs in the Gryffindor common room and the two of them were talking in hushed tones together, looking quite happy and completely in their own little world. "I like it. It's one of those moments that are usually ruined by Sirius jumping in and scaring us."

He laughed. "I bet if I had let that memory continue, that is exactly what would have happened since he's done it so many times. Oh, and I left a few pages toward the end so you can fill it with your own pictures from the rest of the school year."

Lily looked at him puzzled. "How do you mean?"

He groaned and leaned into her shoulder. "Oops. I suppose you should open your _other_ present now."

She rolled her eyes playfully as she opened her other gift, which turned out to be a wizarding camera. She smiled back at her boyfriend who was now shaking his head because he had basically insinuated at what her other gift was. He was so adorable sometimes. She wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks for my presents, sweetheart. Have I mentioned that I love you yet today?"

James smiled down at her, loving to see her pretty green eyes staring up at him. "You're very welcome, and no, I don't suppose you have."

Lily leaned forward slightly so she was almost kissing him, but not quite. The two of them had an hour before James had to be down at the pitch. She could think of one way to enjoy her birthday right now. "Hmmm… I have to change that. I love you."

He nuzzled her nose, still not kissing her, although she could have sworn his lips twitched with the hint of a smile. "Hmmm…I love you too, beautiful."

Lily's fingers scoured the bed just behind him and found his wand. She waved it around a few times, completing a few necessary charms. "Can I have my other present now?"

James had watched her as she did her spellwork and now thoroughly enjoyed the naughty grin she was giving him. He teased her, "I don't know. I mean, you did make me wait all day on my birthday…"

She shifted so she was now straddling his lap, her lips still dangerously close to his own. "What was that, Potter?"

He chuckled as his hands wandered down her back and rested on her hips, where he began fingering the lacy dark blue knickers she was wearing. He loved it when she teased him. "I have no idea."

Her bright green eyes were now twinkling down at him amusedly. "Good answer."

He brushed aside her long red hair, kissing her neck slowly. One of his hands skimmed up her camisole around her back while the other remained on her hip. He felt her grip his bare shoulders a bit as she tilted her head slightly for him to continue.

She was thinking about nothing other than James kissing her neck so she didn't really notice that he was attempting to pull off her camisole until his lips stopped their attack. She lifted her arms obediently, allowing him to remove it. She enjoyed his strong arms as they wrapped tightly around her body once more and his lips as he finally lowered them onto hers. She relished in feeling his bare upper body against hers as she practically melted into him.

James groaned into her mouth when he felt her start to grind her hips a bit against him. He slid his hands up her bare back and unsnapped her white lacy bra, gently pulling it off of her as she continued to sit on his lap. He felt Lily smile against his lips as he tightened his arms around her once more and maneuvered her so she was lying on her back with him on top of her. He let his hands wander over her body as he snogged her senseless.

Lily sighed softly as his hands caressed her body. He broke their kiss, and she felt his lips begin to descend over her bare skin. Her hands gripped at his shoulders and in his hair as she felt tingling sensations at every spot he decided to give attention to. She finally felt his fingers sliding her knickers down her legs, and when she felt his hands start to feel inside her, she couldn't help but moan in pleasure.

James loved listening to every sound Lily made as he teased her. In a few minutes time, she was panting and squirming beneath him, and it was driving him crazy, but he wanted to feel her orgasm today. He groaned when he felt her body shudder and he could feel her climax around his fingers. Lily moaned his name softly, and it was practically his undoing.

Lily was breathless as she felt her body relax even though her heart was still pounding. After a few moments where she was decidedly distracted, she suddenly felt James start leaving feather-light kisses upon various parts of her body as he crept up on top of her. She heard him chuckle quietly into her neck, and as his lips reached her ear, he whispered, "That was for your birthday, but this is just some fun for you and me."

The witty reply that was on the tip of her tongue fell flat when she suddenly felt pleasure ripple through her body as he pushed inside of her. She heard his breath hitch, and she was overwhelmed with the desire to snog him. She pulled his lips down onto hers, sighing softly as he continued to move on top of her. She let her hands wander over his sides and his back while her legs tightened around him, causing him to groan slightly into her neck. She wanted to see him though so she gently pushed a bit until they rolled over so she was on top of him.

James groaned deeply as Lily sat up on top of him and began moving over him. He loved watching her as she sat above him, particularly because her darkened green eyes were usually fixed down upon him. He let his hands wander over his beautiful girlfriend, ultimately resting them at her hips, which he helped move against him. Lily began to moan again, which tore at his self-control. It wasn't long before he felt his climax, and she continued to move over him for only a few more moments before he felt her climax again. She leaned down over him, still breathing just as heavy as he was. He ran a hand over her back, causing her to shiver slightly. "I love you, Lils."

She smiled down at him, kissing him briefly. "I love you more."

He chuckled. "That's not possible."

He maneuvered her next to him, cleaning them up a bit, before pulling her closer to his body. The two of them remained like that next to each other for a while until James remembered he had somewhere to be soon. "What time is it?"

Lily looked over at the clock on his desk. "10:05am?" She felt James instantly tense beneath her, and she giggled. "You'll make it on time."

He unwillingly started pulling away from his gorgeous, NAKED girlfriend, something he desperately did not want to be doing. "I have to go get ready. I have to be down there in twenty-five minutes. I haven't eaten anything either."

Her green eyes were sparkling as she continued to laugh quietly at his panic. "Go, James. I'll see you at the pitch."

She watched him run into his bathroom to get ready so she slowly made her way into her own bedroom to get ready herself. About fifteen minutes or so later when she was done with her shower and fixing her hair in her mirror, she heard a knock on her door where she saw James standing in his quidditch robes, all freshly shaven and clean. She smiled at him as she approached the door. "You should go, you're going to be late."

He gave her a once over, liking her gold camisole with a scarlet zip-up jumper along with her pretty scarlet and gold hair ribbons, but just laughed at her words and gave her a quick kiss. "I had to say goodbye to my birthday girl. I hope we win because then we can have a party in the Gryffindor common room for you. Parties are lame when we lose."

She rolled her eyes playfully, shoving him on his way. "You'll win, hands down. Now, GO!"

He kissed her one more time before running out of their common room so he could make it all the way through the castle and near the pitch in less than ten minutes. She knew that he was well aware of all possible secret passage ways that could lead him to the quidditch area, but she wasn't sure he was that good. He probably should've just flown out of the window in their common room if he wanted to make it on time. She went back to getting ready and soon, she heard the sphinx open up and some excited talking. She made sure she had everything, including her new wizarding camera, before making her way out into the Heads' common room to meet with everyone. She smiled at the obvious Gryffindor-wear her friends were wearing. Remus, Peter, Christina, and Lauren were similarly dressed in scarlet and gold. Christina eyed her happy smile with amusement, probably knowing exactly why she was smiling that way. "Happy birthday! You ready?"

Lily nodded and thanked them as they all wished her a happy birthday. Lily ended up walking with Christina as the boys and Lauren began debating about whether or not the Hufflepuffs stood any chance at all. Christina smiled at her cheekily before saying quietly, "We missed you both at breakfast."

Lily shot her a look, although it didn't really work because she started smiling against her will. "Shut up. We slept in."

Christina just smirked. "Right."

Lily pushed at her best mate playfully before pulling the two of them closer to the boys and Lauren. The game would be starting in the next half hour, and they had to get good seats.

James rushed through all of the hallways and secret passages he could remember, somehow making it to the quidditch training rooms with one minute to spare. Sirius was the first to notice his arrival, particularly because he was breathing heavily from his hurry to get there on time, and he gave him a smirk. "You're almost late."

James eyed him warily. He knew that smirk. "Shut it. It's Lily's birthday today."

Sirius nodded, his grey eyes twinkling. It was rare that he got to tease James about anything. "Oh, that's right. So Lily was your breakfast this morning?"

The smack he received in return made him laugh incredibly hard. The rest of the team immediately turned to see what Sirius was laughing so hysterically about, but they only found a rather ticked off James glaring at Sirius. James eventually sighed and smiled evilly in Sirius' direction. "You can take it up with Lily after the match."

Sirius paled at that and sobered up rather quickly. "Ummm, no, don't think I'll do that. No way."

James snickered and began talking with everyone about the match. They went over some of the plays that they had been practicing, based on their observations about how Hufflepuff liked to play, and also general ideas about defense. It wasn't long before Professor McGonagall pulled them aside, gave them a few comments of her own, and led them out toward the pitch. They were left standing in their alcove, waiting to be called onto the field.

Anthony Abbott got things started, and being a Hufflepuff himself, you could tell which way his commenting was going to be swayed even though Hufflepuff would be fighting for third place in this match. "Here comes the _amazing_ Hufflepuff team with Chasers Branstone, Cadwallader, and Smith; Beaters Rogers and Miltrin; Keeper Cauldwell; and Seeker Aaron Fareville!"

Amidst cheers from the Hufflepuff side of the stadium, he continued in a slightly dimmer voice, "And there's the Gryffindor team with Chasers Potter, Hoyt, and Murray; Beaters Black and Douglas; Keeper Owens; and Seeker Hailey Baker!"

The Gryffindor side erupted in loud cheers, which tuned out the jeers from the Slytherin side. James shook Cadwallader's hand, and soon the match was underway. Anthony seemed glum at the onset. "And Hoyt takes the quaffle, passes to Murray, Potter, Murray, Hoyt, Potter scores! 10-0 Gryffindor."

Lily humphed at Anthony's monotone commentary. She nudged Christina. "Why can't he be unbiased? He did fine in the other Gryffindor games."

Christina shrugged, smiling as she cheered for Gryffindor, who had managed to score again. "He's a Huffepuff; we're playing Hufflepuff. Who cares anyway? Ouch, that was a mean shot from Lee. It almost looked like it was heading for Sirius, but Beaters are supposed to aim for the Chasers, right?"

Lily didn't really know much about quidditch rules to give her a proper answer. She hoped that it wasn't a blatant shot at Sirius because of his latent jealousy over the guy. She wished she could just talk with Christina about it, but the last time she had mentioned Lee and Sirius in the same sentence, Christina had clammed up and became a bit snippy. "Who knows?"

Anthony brought them back to the game. "Bludger to Murray from Rogers, but he looks alright. Nice hit, Rogers! Quaffle was dropped to Cadwallader, but stolen by Potter, who passes to Hoyt, Murray, Hoyt scores! 40-20 Gryffindor."

James dodged a bludger, sending him higher in the sky. He immediately dived, heading for Branstone, but again, changed course when Mike hit a bludger at Branstone. Celia stole the quaffle mid-pass and tore after the Hufflepuff goal zone. James changed directions quickly, loving the Nimbus 1500's control. He caught the pass coming to him, stalled somewhat letting Cadwallader and Smith pass him, before throwing to Murray who had come up from below. Murray looped in the air, dropped it back to him, and he tossed it fast to Celia, who immediately scored again. The Gryffindors erupted with cheers, although Anthony didn't sound enthused as he commentated the new score.

Anthony tried to sound excited, but the last few minutes of the match had not been in Hufflepuff's favor. "Again, Cadwallader with the quaffle, who passes to Smith, back to Cadwallader, to Branstone— wait, Potter stole the quaffle again. Potter passes to Hoyt, Murray, Hoyt, Potter, Hoyt, Potter, Murray, Hoyt, Potter scores! 70-30 Gryffindor."

The play on the pitch seemed to get a bit dirtier, considering Hufflepuff wasn't happy about being shown up. Lily wrinkled her nose. "You'd think they wouldn't care so long as Slytherin wouldn't win the Cup."

Remus shook his head, smiling some as Sirius sent a bludger at Cadwallader, sending him clear off course. "Nah. Its all about House pride, Lily."

Christina gasped suddenly, gripping Lily's arm. Lee had just sent a bludger at Sirius, close range. Sirius almost fell off his broom, but managed to hang on, although he tumbled in the sky a bit. There was a whistle for a foul immediately. James looked incredibly pissed off as he leveled himself with Sirius to check if he was alright, giving the free shot to Celia. Madam Pomfrey even had to come over to mend his mangled collarbone so they could continue the match. Lily turned to Christina, who looked just as upset as James. She wasn't sure what to say. "Maybe you were right about the whole Beaters only supposed to be hitting the Chasers thing?"

Anthony attempted to clarify everything for everyone, "Foul on Hufflepuff for a Beater hitting another Beater in a range of less than twenty feet, although for the record, Rogers says it was intended for Murray. Hoyt takes the foul shot for Gryffindor and scores. 110-50 Gryffindor."

Christina looked furious. "So Beaters can hit other Beaters, which is fine, but Jake was twenty feet BELOW Sirius when that bludger was shot off. Lee completely lied to the ref. He hit Sirius on purpose."

Lily and Lauren exchanged nervous glances, but the boys chose to ignore the smoldering blonde. They turned their attention back to the game. The Slytherins had quieted down, considering Gryffindor had a sizeable lead and with the snitch, they would easily win the Cup. Anthony continued to commentate, "Potter with the quaffle, passes to Murray, Hoyt— Baker sees the snitch!"

Everyone's attention went straight to the tiny brunette who had suddenly begun flying at breakneck speeds toward center-pitch. Fareville followed, but his broom wasn't nearly as good as Hailey's— Hailey had a Nimbus 1000, like James' old broom. Hailey suddenly darted upwards, flying higher into the sky, chasing after the tiny snitch that only a few people could even see. Fareville cut some of the distance as she rose abruptly and he gradually from behind, leaving them both neck in neck. Everyone was shocked when tiny, little Hailey Baker was able to check Fareville, who was nearly twice her size. Apparently, he was just as surprised. In Fareville's astonishment, Hailey managed to grab the snitch from right under his nose. Anthony looked on sadly, although he tried to be upbeat. "Baker catches the snitch. 150 points to Gryffindor. 280-80 Gryffindor. Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup!"

The Gryffindor side erupted in cheers while the Slytherins all looked distinctly pissed off. Hufflepuff just looked defeated, but the Ravenclaws looked like they had at least enjoyed the game. Lily and the others rushed down to the pitch to meet with the team, who were all talking excitedly to Hailey. She caught the tail end of what Sirius was saying to her, "… so glad we taught you how to be such a bad ass, little Hailey."

She just giggled and continued to talk with some of her friends who had made it onto the pitch. Lily turned to her handsome boyfriend, who was now completely gross after playing a rough game of quidditch. He still looked perfect to her though. "Great game. I told you that we would win."

He leaned down and kissed her for a few seconds before leaning over and whispering in her ear, "Yes, but for some reason, I'm incredibly starving right now."

Lily knew she was blushing slightly, but she didn't care. "Me too."

He was just about to continue to tease her when Sirius shouted at him, "Oi, Prongs! McGonagall wants us to go kiss some scout ass right now so quit flirting with your girlfriend."

Everyone in the area started laughing at the two of them, and James could see that Lily was now blushing more furiously. He could feel heat on his own face as well. He turned to Lily with an exaggerated sigh, "Excuse me, Ms. Evans. My presence is needed elsewhere. When we're through, feel free to attack Mr. Padfoot with any charm you wish."

Lily's eyes were sparkling back at him. "That I will."

James made his way over to Sirius where he made sure to slap him upside his head. McGonagall joined them and stopped them before it went any further. "Boys, will you desist! Follow me, please."

They continued to shove at each other every so often as they followed behind McGonagall. They eventually reached a man, who looked to be in his thirties, who was giving them both a big, although somewhat fake, smile. James and Sirius shared raised eyebrows before turning their attention to the man. Introductions were thrown around, and they learned he did scouting for Ireland and England. He had met with Rogers and Cadwallader already, but he had saved the two of them for last. He eyed them both with an air of superiority. "Well, it's clear you two boys have some talent. We'd love to see what you could do for one of our teams. Have either of you ever considered playing professionally?" James shook his head while Sirius shrugged so he continued, "Well, what jobs were you both looking into then?"

James sighed before answering reluctantly, mainly to be polite. "We've both applied to the Auror Division within the Ministry."

He just smirked at them. "Well, you need top grades for that. Fat chance, boys. Most jocks typically think they could make it in an academic position, but really, they end up wishing they took the chance that we could've given them. I recommend forgetting your flights of fancy and taking me up on my generous offer."

James frowned. He could see Sirius also did not like the man. Both of them were about to say something to defend themselves for being considered nothing more than dumb jocks, but it was McGonagall who made the remarks. She looked at the scout disdainfully. "I'll have you know that both Potter and Black are top students within Hogwarts. They both have what it takes to make it into the Auror Division."

The scout just shrugged dismissively. "Well, if you say so. Boys, here's my card. Give me a call when you want to have the chance of a lifetime."

Both James and Sirius did not reach for the cards, and instead looked on stonily. James commented coldly, "No, thanks."

McGonagall nodded curtly at the three of them and walked away, giving the boys a sideways glance, like she knew they were already thinking of some good pranks but she wasn't going to do anything about it. The scout bid them both goodbye and began to walk away too, but that was when the two boys acted. Both James and Sirius waved their wands around silently and suddenly the scout stopped stoically, observing the many changes taking place.

The scout's outfit had changed to a pair of tiny pink shorts and a way too tight hot orange t-shirt that said 'I like to kick cats— real ones and kneazles,' his shoes had changed to clown shoes which were way too big, and his hair had changed so it was now a flashing scarlet and gold. He waved his wand around frantically to rectify the changes to no avail. A flashing sign also had appeared above him, which read 'I told a Marauder he was dumb, and this is my punishment.' The scout was so spooked when he noticed the flashing sign, he tried running away from it, even though it continued to follow him anyway, only to find he was blocked by an invisible solid wall on all sides. Everyone who could see the spectacle was in hysterics, and both James and Sirius similarly burst out laughing at their collective work, but both immediately froze when they heard a familiar voice, "JAMES POTTER! What in the world do you think you are doing!"

James turned around guiltily and looked at his beautiful girlfriend, who was approaching him quickly, her face showing very little amusement. He whined somewhat, hoping it might make him appear sympathetic, "But Lily, he called Sirius and I dumb jocks! We had to show him how talented we were!"

Sirius stood beside his friend, nodding in a similarly scared kind of way. Lily couldn't help but smile at the sight of both boys cowering slightly in front of her, particularly because they were both a head taller than her. She sighed and gestured to the poor man they had embarrassed. "At least remove the ward, James. That was a bit much."

James nodded, clearly relieved he wasn't in trouble. He carefully removed the ward, but the scout was so scared and had been running and running at the invisible wall so much that when the wall was suddenly removed and he kept running, he tripped over his own feet, falling face first onto the ground. He immediately picked himself up and ran wildly out of sight. James turned back to Lily apologetically. "Sorry, Lils. How about we do something to make up for it?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

James turned to his fellow Marauders with a sneaky smile. "Boys, I think we need fireworks. We must give the Gryffindors a good show and a party, plus it will piss off the Slytherins."

They boys all nodded, smirking, and raised their wands into the air, mumbling incantations. Four different bands of fireworks lit up the pitch, causing oohs and ahhs from the numerous remaining crowd-goers. Lily observed the colorful fireworks, smilingly brightly. One set ended up reading out 'Gryffindors win the Cup!,' while another set eventually read 'Go Gryffindor!,' and the third set read 'Gryffindors Rule!' However, it was the final set that made Lily turn around, her eyes twinkling as she looked at her amazing boyfriend. It had read 'Happy Birthday, Lils!' She wrapped her arms around his neck, no longer caring that he was all gross from quidditch still. "You're too good to me, Potter."

He chuckled, wrapping his own arms around her tightly. He leaned over and kissed her gently. "Nah, I just love you."

She smiled at him. "I love you too."

They eventually were pulled along with everyone else to the Gryffindor common room, but the two of them remained in each other's presence for the whole afternoon and night as the celebrations continued. Lily couldn't imagine a better way to spend her birthday.

Lily sat somewhat uncomfortably in the library, trying desperately to concentrate on her Charms textbook and notes. Instead, her mind kept drifting over everything else. First, she was desperately hoping that everything she had wanted to get done over the last two weeks had actually gotten done; second, she was worried about Christina, who continued to look down in the dumps after she had finally dumped Lee; third, Severus, who was sitting about three tables away, kept glaring at her whenever she seemed to look in his general direction, causing her some discomfort; and fourth, she was worrying generally about her NEWTs that would be starting tomorrow with Charms being first. She and James had agreed to study on their own for the evening, and he would then come and get her for their patrol.

She sighed as she looked over her notes. She knew this stuff, or at least, she was pretty sure she did. She was constantly praised for being the best Charms student Professor Flitwick had seen in many years. However, she had a habit of driving herself into a bag of nerves before something important. Right now, she was getting close to her breaking point. She closed her eyes briefly and forced herself to calm down. She knew James would probably help some when he arrived. He somehow had an uncanny way of always managing to calm her down.

When she opened her eyes once more, casually scanning the library, she managed to catch yet another Severus glare. She glared right back this time, forcing him to look away instead. She scowled inwardly. That prat. She had no idea what his little scheme for her might have been, but she was glad she had gotten out when she did. She and James had both noticed him spending unnecessary and unusual amounts of time with Malfoy and Bellatrix lately. It was a definite change in character for him, and Lily was slightly concerned, but she no longer wanted anything to do with him.

She closed her Charms textbook wearily and pushed it aside. She glanced through one of her extra Charms texts that James had lent her from his personal library instead. It was more interesting than the basic classwork anyway. Her mind again wandered to the last two prefect meetings they had had this past week. Everyone was moody and didn't want to be there, but they had to organize the Graduation reception that was approaching just after NEWTs and OWLs took place. Because the fifth and seventh year students were preoccupied with their respective tests, the whole duty usually fell to the sixth year prefects, who were none-too-happy to take the job, even though they had witnessed the current seventh years do it last year. James had finally gotten a couple sixth years to volunteer to organize food while the remaining sixth years were sent to Professor McGonagall to help out with any set-up issues and whatnot. She had no idea why this had taken two prefects meetings to decide, but it had. Charms. She was supposed to be studying Charms.

She forced herself to read a few passages, but her heart was no longer into it. She probably would be spending her time more wisely looking over Transfiguration which took place four days from now. That was the only subject she still struggled with occasionally. She grumbled moodily into her textbook to herself so she didn't notice the sounds of a few people starting to whisper at their tables until she saw a shadow hanging over her. She immediately looked up and smiled instantly at seeing James. "Hey."

He looked her over and frowned, running a hand over the side of her face slightly. "You're worrying too much and driving yourself crazy again."

She let out a small laugh, trying to be quiet. "You know me too well."

James nodded, glancing around to see that the librarian was starting to make students head back to their dorms. He also noticed Severus packing up his things, glaring in their direction. He turned back to Lily, who had started pulling together her things. He placed his hand on her back gently. "You should just use the placement charm, sweetheart, since we're going to be walking around and all."

Lily grumbled to herself again, considering she hadn't even thought about that. With a flick of her wand, all of her things immediately disappeared. "I forgot. I can't believe I wouldn't even think to do that. I'm going to do _so_ awful tomorrow."

James chuckled softly, kissing her forehead. "You'll do just fine so quit fishing for compliments. Let's go. Consider it your only break of the day."

Lily sighed and took his offered hand, following him as he led her out of the library so they could start their patrol. Both of them ignored Severus as they passed him. It didn't stop him from continuing his glare-a-thon though. James frowned, and once they were out of earshot, asked, "Did he give you any trouble? He seems to be around you a lot, even though he does nothing but glare. You ok?"

Lily shrugged and gave him a tiny smile. "I can deal with him glaring. I'm fine. No trouble."

James nodded. "How did your studying go? Sirius interrupted mine about halfway through so yeah…"

She laughed softly. "Mine went ok until I started worrying. I'm sorry about Sirius."

He smiled down at her as they rounded one of the corners to begin walking through the corridors. "What are you possibly worried about? I suppose I know you're sort of worried about NEWTs, but you're going to do just fine. You're the top student in our class."

Lily crinkled her nose. "It's not really that, I think. I mean…I don't know. I've studied enough over the past month for the tests so I guess it's just…other stuff."

He nudged her gently, his hazel eyes twinkling. "Only _you_ would worry about other things when we are about to be taking very important exams all week. What else is on your mind, Lily love? I'll show you that you are worrying unnecessarily."

She glared at him playfully. "I do _not_ worry unnecessarily, Potter."

He chuckled, leaning over to kiss her briefly. "Yes, you do. Now, spill."

Lily sighed, knowing he wouldn't give up until she started talking. "Well, I guess there's the Graduation reception for one thing…"

He shook his head, smiling. "Nope. That's no longer in our hands. The sixth year prefects are fully capable, Lils, and you know that McGonagall won't let them slack off."

She frowned at him discounting that one so fast. "Well, I suppose Severus' behavior is troubling me a bit. It's…for lack of a better word, creepy? I mean, don't you think so too? He has never acted like this, even when he wasn't friendly."

He nodded reluctantly at that one. "I have no idea why he's acting so odd and watching you a lot, but so long as you keep your distance like you have been, no trouble should come from it. I wish he would leave you alone too. I suppose he is acting a little different, but there's nothing you can really do about it."

She hugged his arm to her as they continued on their walk. "Yeah, I guess you're right. What about Christina?"

He sighed. "She's a genuine concern, but between you and me, I think a prolonged snog between her and Sirius in a broom closet would solve all of her problems."

Lily giggled into his arm, looking up at him cheekily. "You're probably right about that. I wonder when they'll both wise up to the sexual tension. It's been more obvious than ever since she broke up with Lee earlier last week because of the whole quidditch thing."

James snickered. "I don't know, but I hope it's soon. He's already got that confused and lost expression when he looks at her, which I remember quite clearly when I used to follow you around."

She laughed at him. "You were cute though."

He rolled his eyes, but smiled at seeing her pretty green eyes twinkling as she teased him. She actually looked much more relaxed than when he had come to get her, which was his goal, of course. "_Now_ you tell me that… So what else, beautiful?"

She sighed, thinking quietly to herself. She loved that he always put her first no matter what was on his own mind. She knew he probably was more concerned about his NEWTs than he had been letting on, considering she had been bitching about them over the past week way more than he had been. She bit her lip as she thought about how nice this was and how things would be different once they graduated and were no longer living like they were at the moment. She had been thinking about how things might change between them once they weren't at Hogwarts any longer. Now, how to bring it up. She spoke tentatively, "Well, I was thinking about after Graduation a bit."

His brow furrowed. That one threw him for a loop. He had remembered them discussing that sort of thing when they had been doing their job stuff and things had seemed fine. "Job applications?"

His eyes were searching hers curiously, and she sort of nodded at his words. She supposed she was worried about that too. She watched his eyes suddenly turn to slight surprise as he continued to look at her. "You're worried about me."

Lily wasn't sure what to say because she didn't want him to think she was having doubts about how she felt because that wasn't the case so she kind of blurted out, "Well, not really, but things will change, won't they?"

He ran a hand through her hair, looking thoughtfully into her eyes. "I suppose you're right about some things changing, but that doesn't change how I feel about you. I love you. If I don't see you at least once a day, I think I would go crazy."

Her face immediately brightened. "Good. I think I would go crazy too."

He smiled, one of those smiles she only saw him give her, and it automatically erased any concerns she had about them as a couple lasting after Hogwarts. The way he looked at her was something she loved. She would feel incomplete without him with her. He leaned over and captured her lips for a few seconds. "Come on, let's finish up. No more worrying, Lily love."

The two of them finished their walk, surprised to have nothing really to do. This could easily be attributed to the fifth and seventh years studying like mad for the next day, but still. Lily had assumed some sixth years or something might be up to trouble. They finally made it back to their dorm, and Lily left James to get her things together for tomorrow. She eventually found him waiting up for her in his room as he skimmed over his Charms textbook some more. He smiled over at her. "Hey, you. Get over here."

She crawled up onto his bed, finishing with leaning over him a bit. One of his hands wound up into her hair, pulling her lips down onto his. Lily let herself get lost in the kiss. She felt relaxed by his presence. He made her feel like anything was possible, even something as horrible as going through NEWTs in the morning. "Night, James. Love you."

He kissed her cheek and helped her get comfortable with him. "Love you too. Night."

James ran his hand through Lily's long red hair as she rested on his chest. He knew it would lull her to sleep. His mind wandered to all of her worries that evening, and he hoped he had eased them for her. He had been surprised that she was worried about them, but in reality, having talked about it made him feel much better too. He sometimes couldn't get over the fact that she loved him. It made him feel amazing that she wanted them to last as much as he did. He really couldn't fathom _not_ having her with him. He listened quietly as her breathing became more rhythmic, and he eventually felt her body relax completely against him.

His mind drifted toward his Charms NEWT in the morning. He really wished Sirius hadn't interrupted him that evening. He could've used the extra time studying. As he lay there wishing for sleep, he slowly felt the over-achiever within him begin to take over. He closed his eyes briefly as he cursed every possible higher power. Only he would get out of a warm bed which contained a half-naked beautiful girl lying on him to go study Charms. He rolled his eyes at his stubborn resolve, muttering obscenities to himself as he gently slid out from under Lily. He winced mournfully when she tried to hold onto him sleepily, but just kissed her on her forehead and sat quietly in his armchair with his glasses, wand, Charms textbook, and notes. He muttered an irritated "Lumos" and began what would probably be a long night.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26 – Graduation

Lily groaned softly when she heard the annoying buzz in her ears, essentially alerting her to the fact that she was about to take her Charms NEWT in a little over an hour. The sound was beginning to annoy her, and after remembering how James had suggested trying to use wandless magic when she was agitated or upset, she gave it a try. Nothing happened at first, but this only made her more frustrated because the buzzing had gotten louder. She placed her hands over her ears annoyed and surprisingly, the sound vanished. She opened her bright green eyes with a smile. However, her smile disappeared when she realized something. James didn't have his arm around her.

She immediately turned over onto her back and noticed the bed was empty except for her. She frowned. She was just about to call out for him when she noticed him sitting comfortably on his armchair in nothing but his boxers, obviously asleep. He was surrounded by parchment and had his wand and Charms textbook in his lap. She couldn't seem to stop the tug of a smile from creeping across her face as she observed him quietly. He really was more of a perfectionist than most people knew. However, his idea of studying tended to be a result of procrastination or cramming. She, of course, had no idea how he could do this.

Lily quietly crept out of the bed and grabbed her wand from his desk. She waved it at James, and all of his things, including his glasses that had been skewed slightly on his face, piled neatly onto his desk once more. She made her way closer to him, running her hand through his messy dark hair. "Hey, sleepyhead, time to get up."

James stirred, grumbling a bit to himself. He raised his sleepy and unfocused hazel eyes to her pretty green ones. "Is it morning already?"

Lily nodded, smiling a bit at his dishevelment, which was oddly alluring. "Yes. We need to get a move on if we want to eat anything before the exam. I can't believe you stayed up all night studying."

He nodded wearily, slowly standing up too. "It's Sirius' fault. Blame him."

She tugged on his arm gently, and he immediately leaned down to kiss her for a few seconds. He groaned as he pulled away from her though. "I love you, but even when I'm blind, you walking around in nothing but your knickers and a camisole is so unfair."

Lily giggled as she made her way out of his room. He was only wearing his boxers so she supposed the feeling was mutual. "I love you too, James."

He squinted his eyes a bit as he struggled to watch her walk away, even though she got more blurry as she went. He sighed and rummaged through his belongings for a pepper-up potion. There was only one left. He would have to call Reeny to get some more from home. He figured the next week and a half would require this potion a lot. He quickly got ready and then headed out to meet his girlfriend while he was trying to remember the best way to cast a cheering charm without having the person become excessively giddy. He had done that to Sirius once or twice. Lily was looking through her packed satchel to make sure she had everything while James looked on amusedly. "Why did you even bother packing your satchel? You won't need it."

She gave him a look. "Just to look over a few things at lunch before the practical. Besides, seeing as you and the guys won't bring anything, how do you think you all will get your questions answered when you suddenly have some five minutes before the exam?"

James chuckled and leaned against her doorframe. "I suppose. I still don't think you'll need them. Any questions we may have, you can answer them without any help."

Lily didn't seem to believe him. She pulled her hair out of her face, threw her satchel over her shoulder, and walked out to meet him with a sigh. James kissed her cheek. "Stop worrying."

She grumbled at him, slightly annoyed with his cavalier attitude, "I'll do as I please, James."

He sighed at that and just grabbed her hand, leading her out past the sphinx. He had come to learn that sometimes you needed to just let Lily be cranky, and it would wear off. "I know."

They both made their way into the Great Hall where everything seemed to be in a state of frenzy and walked over to where they usually sat. Christina was reading through her Charms textbook, and oddly enough, so was Sirius. Remus was talking quickly and quietly to a very scared-looking Peter. Lauren was the only one who looked completely relaxed. She was wearing a smirk on her face as she enjoyed her breakfast, clearly enjoying watching those around her stressing out. James rolled his eyes at her. "Lauren, how _lovely_ to see you are doing so well this morning."

She eyed him cheekily. "Oh, Jimmy, you noticed! It really is _great_ being a sixth year, isn't it? No drama about the future, no caring about getting a job… _This_ is the life."

Lily smacked her lightly for being so blasé about the whole thing. "You'll be this way next year. Just wait."

She shrugged, still smiling evilly at the seventh years around her. "I'm all about the here and now for the moment. I like watching you all squirm."

James grabbed a few things for breakfast. "So where do we have to go again?"

Christina didn't even look up from her reading, although she did nudge Sirius to turn the page, as she answered him monotonously, "We have our Charms test in the Charms classroom from 9-11am. The practical will be down the hall a bit in that classroom with access from different areas so students can be let in and out through different doors. The fifth years get the Great Hall, considering there are more of them than there are of us, and they have their test from 9:30-11:30am instead so they end just before lunch."

Lily nodded. "I suppose we did lose a few people in NEWT-level Charms, didn't we? A few Hufflepuffs and Slytherins?"

Remus sighed. "And Thomas from Gryffindor. If you think James is hopeless at Charms, then you have never seen Thomas try to cast a levitation charm. _That_ was scary."

James shot him a look. "I'm not completely hopeless, you know. I just can't do the basic ones for the life of me. I suppose it's not that I can't do them, only that they just don't last— kind of like Lily's conjuring." He ignored the annoyed look he got from his beautiful girlfriend and continued, "I've learned more than a few complicated Charms that work out just fine."

Sirius chuckled. "Yeah. Like the one you did last week for Hailey on that fourth year prat. That was the best. I thought he was going to remain an icicle for the whole week until Dumbledore set him right about five hours later."

James smirked. "He deserved it for calling her an ice princess and for being a first-rate git. I just made him into an ice prince, that's all."

Christina giggled. "His lips are still blue though. Dumbledore couldn't fix everything. I hope his bits are still frozen. I have no idea how you got him to turn all frosty like that. Fantastic, that was."

James shrugged. "Maybe I'll do that as my extra credit in the practical. At least I know how to reverse the full spell now, just don't tell Mitch."

Lily nudged him, curious. "There's no extra credit in the practical, James."

Sirius eyed her outrageously. "You're kidding, right? I had way too much fun during my Transfiguration OWL. Let's just say the examiner didn't expect to be turned into my pincushion."

James snickered. "I morphed one of the gargoyles in the Great Hall to be a giant statue of McGonagall. She didn't look me in the face for the rest of term."

Lily's eyes twinkled. "So that's why everyone was astounded when I combined a bunch of the charms the examiners asked me to do, leading me to leave the practical examination after a total of ten minutes? No wonder I got an O."

James poked her in her sides when she started to laugh. "Aren't you a little smart ass?"

Lauren eventually bade them goodbye and good luck, indicating it was time for them to head to the Charms classroom. All things were left outside the classroom, and they were arranged in the spaced out seating in alphabetical order. James gave Lily a reassuring smile, which she happily returned. It wasn't long before all of the seats were filled, and the examiners from the Ministry were introduced— Madam Wallis, Madam Grendell, and Mr. Blake. They gave the usual speech (more like lecture) about the importance of the exam and about the anti-cheating quills that were handed out before they were all allowed to begin. James watched Lily begin writing straight away, knowing that she would do exceptionally well today because this was definitely her area of expertise. He turned his eyes down to his own exam and did his best to answer the questions as thoroughly as possible. He thought it went pretty well, considering he had been up so late studying and was not necessarily top notch at Charms.

The Charms practical after lunch was interesting, to say the least. Sirius was one of the first to go in, giving their group an inspired look. If the scared noises coming from the classroom were anything to go by, Sirius may not have done so well, but at least he had been in good spirits on the way in. After that, a silencing charm was placed on the classroom. Lily looked to be a bundle of nerves when the examiner came to get her, but James smiled at her and it seemed to relax her a bit.

James couldn't stand the waiting game. He was sitting near Peter, but Peter was panicking too much to be good conversation. He instead mentally went over the more common charms typically found on the OWL and NEWT exams. He was pretty sure he would do ok. Remus and Christina went in together since they fell right next to each other alphabetically. Soon, Peter was called in. He looked positively terrified. James felt a bit of sympathy for him, but he had had time to study just like the rest of them and Remus had helped him a lot that morning. He was sure Peter would be able to scrape by quite easily so long as he didn't start to freak out. He was brooding about being near the end of the alphabet when he suddenly heard, "Mr. Potter?"

James stood up and made his way inside the room, fairly confident. His examiner, Madam Grendell, smiled at him and asked him to go through all of the OWL-level charms silently. This was a piece of cake for James. She started asking about the more complicated charms, but he was able to fumble his way through. Finally, she looked at him with a smile. "That's great. Now, we have been asking every student to take a minute to do as many charms as possible, all silently, to show us something unique."

James smiled inwardly. He knew without even asking that Lily must've passed with an O quite easily. "Sure."

He thought about his cherub from the Valentine's Day dance and decided to run with it. He quickly conjured his cherub, charmed it to dance, used a color-changing charm on his loincloth, conjured a violin, charmed the violin to play music (this time, it was normal music), charmed the cherub's arrows to fly through the air gracefully, used a fireworks charm that spelled out 'Love is in the air,' and since his minute was almost up, he immediately pointed his wand over at Mr. Blake, who was overseeing the examination, changing him into the ice prince like he had done with that fourth year prat as a prank. Madam Grendell was laughing and nodding at him approvingly, but Mr. Blake was clearly unhappy, considering he couldn't undo the charm. James felt for him. "Ahhh, I can undo that."

He immediately flicked his wand, mumbling the countercharm, allowing Mr. Blake to return to normal. Madam Grendell patted him on the back, pushing him toward the exit. "Lovely, Mr. Potter. You're all finished."

James made his way out into the hallway and started heading to the Gryffindor common room where they had all decided to meet. He gave the Fat Lady the password and made his way inside. Lily's pretty face immediately brightened when he appeared. "So?"

He plopped down next to her with a smile. "E, I think anyway."

She kissed him on his cheek. "Good. Peter thinks he got an A because he fumbled up in the practical and on the written exam; Remus thinks he got an E, but I think he got an O and is being modest since Christina said he did really well in the practical; and both Christina and Sirius are claiming E too, but after what we heard, Sirius can_not_ be getting an E."

Sirius looked offended. "I'll have you know that all of that fuss was merely because I conjured a very large crocodile to use as my Charms subject. It was especially fun when I made it change colors. That is all."

All of the Marauders started laughing. It wasn't long before they all made their way to dinner before separating once more so they could prepare for their next NEWT in the morning. The days that followed were all very similar.

Herbology was the second day of exams. Lily had said the whole thing had been a piece of cake, but James hadn't felt that way— for him, it had been cruel and utter torture. He decided that the written exam had gone ok, but the practical had been awful. They had gone around to tables and tables of plants where the examiners would ask them questions about identification, how to cultivate them, what their uses were, and their overlap, if any, with potions ingredients. James did not like this at all. Whenever he hadn't known an answer, he would discuss some other plant that they had never studied in school that his parents had told him about, considering they had been Aurors and used rare plants and such to make all sorts of potions. Madam Wallis had been somewhat impressed with his extra knowledge so he hoped he might have scraped through with another E. He knew Herbology was semi-important for the Auror program.

The third day of exams was Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy. James, Lily, and Remus took their Care of Magical Creatures written exam in the morning, but then Lily had run off for her Arithmancy exam in the afternoon while most students completed their Care of Magical Creatures practical. Lily had instead completed that portion after her other exam. By the time she had gotten back to start studying for Transfiguration the next day, she was wiped. However, this didn't stop Lily from freaking out, considering it was her hardest subject, so James did his best to relax her. Instead of studying for the test himself, he had helped her study. She had thanked him profusely and even told him to go away after awhile to study himself, but he hadn't. He had known he would do just fine without any real practice.

The Transfiguration exam the next day was extremely easy for James. Sure enough, the written exam only dealt with things he had known since fourth year due to the fact that he had mastered all of the NEWT-level transfiguration by that point so they could truly begin to understand the theory behind becoming an animagus. When the practical came around, he had a lot of fun showing off. He transfigured the whole room into a jungle and filled it with all sorts of animals, made inanimate objects come to life, conjured numerous things out of thin-air, transfigured himself into Professor Dumbledore, and transfigured Mr. Blake into a Knut. Madam Wallis had been practically stupefied as she watched him use large-scale transfiguration and do everything silently and effortlessly. Professor McGonagall had watched him approvingly in the background and gave him a nod with a rare smile as he left. Lily had told him that she had had a hard time with the practical, but the written exam she knew she did well on. He was sure she was being modest because he had watched her do every one of the spells the night before.

The fifth day of exams was the most annoying because it had History of Magic, Divination, and Ancient Runes. The night before the exams had been interesting. Lily, Remus, and Christina had disappeared to go through translation upon translation while Sirius and James had just looked at each other and shrugged, knowing that anything that happened in Divination would be the result of their imagination. Lily, Remus, and Christina had eventually approached him some time late in the evening, all looking disheartened, and asked him to please help them learn how to do a basic Rune ward before the morning. He had helped them, even though Sirius had intermittently chimed in about mundane Divination topics, like how he was quite happy he looked like a Grim in his animagus form. If James hadn't known that Sirius was well aware that he could not show anyone that he was an unregistered animagus, he wouldn't have put it past him to scare the examiners and Professor Merryweather to death by appearing as the Grim during his practical. As it was, the tests all ended up ok. Lily had been ecstatic, jumping onto James' lap and squealing about how she had done her ward successfully in her practical. James had just loved seeing her so happy.

The group had their weekend to study for the remaining exams on Monday and Tuesday, which were DADA and Potions respectively. James had poured over Potions, considering he was more worried about that NEWT. It was important for Aurors to pass the Potions NEWT. Lily had helped him, suggesting he look at the ingredients themselves and understand how they work so in the practical, he could make a successful antidote, which was one of the potions they were going to have to make. The two of them had spent most of Sunday going over DADA and sparring, which was entertaining. He hadn't realized how much he missed hearing Lily laugh. They had been so busy over the last week.

DADA was the most interesting exam. The written exam was nothing special, but the practical had been outrageously developed and almost fun. The examinees had to go through four blocked off rooms. In the first room, there was an assortment of dark creatures where they had to identify, describe, and explain how to evade or kill them. The second room was where the examiners tested knowledge on curses/jinxes and their countercurses/counterjinxes. In the third room, the examiners tested knowledge regarding dueling techniques, proper wand holds, defensive spells, and strategy. The fourth and final room was a chance for them to duel and/or attack four Aurors using what they had learned. One of the first things James had asked was whether he could use spells outside of DADA, which was a no. James had been disappointed because he would've liked to use large-scale transfiguration on the Aurors, but then he realized he could apply the large-scale principle to his stunning spell. He smiled and went on the defensive initially, mentally building his power to execute a large area stunner. He was able to do it, and the Aurors were so surprised, two of them went down immediately to the spell and the other two were soon struck with the body bind and anti-apparition jinxes while they were still in their stupor. He collected their wands and was quite happy with himself as he left. Lily had told him that she had gotten three of them, but then charmed the fourth one to bits, even though she wasn't supposed to. She said that he had taunted her, and she had wanted to make him pay. James had laughed and reminded her that was why he liked being on her good side.

The final exam seemed like a reversal in comparison to all of the others. James was the one worried while Lily looked completely at ease. She had continued to help him with odd Potions concepts while still studying herself for their whole evening. The written exam had been difficult. James had panicked when he realized he was supposed to remember every ingredient for certain potions, but could only remember the major ingredients. He fumbled his way through, although he was glad he knew a lot of information about particular ingredients from Lily or he would have been screwed. The practical had actually gone ok. James had been in the room Lily had been in by chance, but just having her in the same room, even if there was utter silence as Mr. Blake supervised the group of eight students as he paced in the front of the room, made him feel more relaxed. It also helped that Snape had been placed in one of the other two rooms. He was able to concentrate better and was pretty sure he had made a fairly passable Draught of Living Death and a hopefully accurate antidote to the unknown poison he had been given.

On the way out of the potions drawing room, he pulled Lily into a hug and spun her around, burying his face in her neck and inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. It seemed like ages since they had just relaxed together. "Merlin, we're finally done."

She pulled his face over to hers and kissed him gently after he put her down. "I know! I'm so glad it's finally over."

They managed to collect their group and head over to the Heads' common room after dinner where they all relaxed and discussed their woes with the NEWT exams. Lauren had come as well, bringing tons of sweets from the house elves in the kitchens. It wasn't long before Sirius left and brought back firewhiskey for them all to celebrate with.

Lily only had a couple of shots with the others before curling up on James' lap, incredibly tired. He let her lie on him, running his hand over her back and through her hair as he talked with the boys.

After what must've been a few hours, Lily felt James move and when she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that everyone was sleeping and the room had darkened considerably, with only the fire in the fireplace providing a bit of light. When James shifted again, she raised her head off of his shoulder to look at him sleepily. "Am I hurting you, sweetheart?"

He must've been sleeping too because his glasses were no longer on, but he smiled at her, obviously awake for some reason. "My arm just fell asleep or something."

He lifted her a bit and maneuvered her into what must've been a more comfortable location before relaxing again and running his fingers through her silky hair. She sighed as she lowered head to rest in his neck a bit. "Sorry."

She felt his lips kiss her forehead. "You know I don't care, Lils."

She smiled. "Yeah, I know."

They both were quiet for the time being until Lily looked out at the others, observing them more closely. Peter was lying uncomfortably in the other armchair by himself; Remus was sitting up on the couch, his head lolled to one side; Lauren was lying on the rest of the couch with her feet in Remus' lap; Sirius was leaning against the couch on the floor with his head resting against the armrest near Lauren's head; and Christina was sitting next to Sirius with her head on his shoulder. Lily pointed and said softly, "Look."

James chuckled quietly into her hair. "You should've seen them earlier. They were flirting a lot. They're like sparks waiting to happen."

Lily sat up a bit so she could look at him better, her eyes twinkling. "Christina used to say that to me about us."

He leaned down and captured her lips with his for a few seconds, smiling against them. "Well, then I'm glad we've passed the torch to them. I like having your sparks instead of wishing I did."

She giggled at him as he continued to kiss her repeatedly all over her face and neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck when he finally stopped. "I like having your sparks too, James."

He nuzzled her nose gently. "Good. I love you."

She mumbled out, "I love you too" before pulling his lips back down onto hers. It had been so long since they had done anything remotely couplish besides falling asleep next to each other because of the hectic NEWT schedule. She had been craving to snog him for days. She loved losing herself in him. He eventually broke the kiss though, kissing her cheek softly and whispering near her ear, "I can't wait to have fun with you later today."

His low whisper caused her to shiver, and she whispered back seductively, "What kind of fun?"

His hazel eyes met hers and that heart-stopping grin of his crossed his features, making her heart pound. "Whatever I want."

If there weren't people in the common room with them, he probably could have had her right now with those words. He had no idea what he was doing to her. She played coy. "What about what _I_ want?"

He chuckled and looked into her pretty green eyes. He was a bit distracted by her running her fingers slowly over his chest. "I'm sure I can work that into whatever I want."

She leaned forward, pressing her body flush against his. "Hmmm, good."

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, keeping her amazing body against his as he nuzzled her neck. He let his lips kiss her collarbone— only once though, because if she made any noise, he would haul her into the bedroom. "Let's get some sleep then so we can be awake when we have all of this fun later."

Lily had bit her lip to keep quiet when he kissed her neck softly and as his warm breath ran over her skin. She nodded against him and kissed him slowly just below his ear. She smiled slightly when his hands fisted in her blouse. It was nice to know that she affected him just as much as he affected her. "Sounds like a plan."

He loosened his hold on her only so she could get comfortable again and then kissed her extremely kissable lips briefly one more time. "Night, Lily love."

She rested against him, listening to his heartbeat and enjoying his strong arms around her. "Night, James."

The rest of the week seemed to pass in a giant blur. The seventh years had no more class, leaving most free to relax out in the sunshine or wander the halls. Filch, of course, hated this. He stalked them all and sent them on their way, yelled at students for bringing dirt into the Entryway, and there was more snogging in broom closets than there had been all year. It was finally the day of the final House feast and the Graduation reception. James and Lily made their way into the Great Hall for the last time for lunch. It was incredibly odd to think of a life after Hogwarts, but it had finally come upon them nonetheless.

James nodded to Christina and Lauren, who were both already talking animatedly together, before sitting down with Lily across from them. "Hello, ladies."

Christina waved him off and turned immediately to Lily, her eyes sparkling. "Guess what?"

Lily smiled. "What?"

She was bouncing with excitement. "My Mum and Dad are going to give me a down payment for a new apartment as a graduation present! Isn't that amazing! I probably won't move in anywhere or anything until July, but my own place! I am beside myself right now! I never even thought about moving out until right now, but it's just perfect!"

Lily laughed. "You're going to fall off the seat, Chris! Jump around _in_ your seat, not _off_ of it."

James looked over at Lily curiously. "Were your parents going to do something like that too?"

She shrugged. "We haven't talked about me moving out much, with Petunia's wedding coming up in like two weeks or so. Shelley told me that I could always move in with her for a while though. She's got this huge place from what she's told me— a huge flat in London or something She finished her Healer apprenticeship just last month so she's now a full-fledged Healer."

Christina squealed, "YES! That would be _so_ amazing if I could find a place out there too!"

James rolled his eyes as all three girls began talking about getting their own place one day. Leave it to the Marauders to leave him with a bunch of girls. He supposed he never minded being left alone with Lily, but the 3:1 ratio he was stuck with at the moment was a bit much at times. He smiled some when Lily absentmindedly rubbed his leg as she continued to talk animatedly with Christina, probably sensing his discomfort. She had told him before that she found his presence to be enough to make her feel at ease. He grabbed a few things to snack on as he tried to follow what the girls were talking about, but it was like listening to half-sentences that the girls seemed to understand completely while he lost the conversation about four sentences in. He sighed and just focused on his lunch. The Marauders were supposed to be meeting them all soon so it shouldn't be a big deal.

After about fifteen minutes, however, James began looking around curiously towards the Great Hall entrance. It was unlike the Marauders to miss meeting up with them when they had said they would be there. He frowned as he ate his sandwich. It took a few more minutes, but the Great Hall doors eventually opened once more and the remaining three Marauders walked in, clearly upset and talking in hushed tones. Remus hurried over and left Sirius and Peter arguing near the entrance. James' face furrowed as he observed Remus' hasty approach. "What is it, Moony?"

He looked distressed and wary as he pulled on his arm. "Umm, just come with me, James."

James threw an odd glance at Lily as he was dragged away. She was watching the both of them curiously. James shrugged helplessly and looked at her with mirrored confusion over the situation. "I guess I'll be back in a minute, Lils?"

Lily frowned as she watched Remus pull away her boyfriend. Something big must've happened. Sirius and Peter were both arguing heatedly, and when James and Remus arrived, Remus shoved Sirius forward, almost for him to tell James whatever was going on. Sirius actually looked hesitant, like he didn't want to say anything at all. When he did finally mumble something, the look on James' face when he heard whatever it was surprised Lily. He was furious. As evidence of just how angry he was, his voice carried over the Great Hall, "YOU DID WHAT? I CAN'T BEL—"

The angry rant was immediately cut off, and Lily saw Remus with his wand out, waving it frantically to silence whatever was going to be said. Sure enough, Sirius looked to be shouting back at James, then Remus was shouting at the both of them, and finally all four of them were shouting at each other. Lily looked up at the Professors' table briefly and noted that Dumbledore and McGonagall looked like they were going to interfere. She didn't want the boys to get in trouble on their last official day as students. She turned to Lauren and Christina. "I'll take care of this."

With that, she got up quickly and walked towards the feuding Marauders. None of them even noticed her approach, although she saw a lot of the other students starting to whisper about it. She whipped out her wand and waved it around expertly. Suddenly, all four Marauders had their hands on their throats like they were choking as they were led out of the Great Hall from an invisible source holding their ears in reprimand. Lily vaguely heard the Great Hall laughing at the spectacle behind her as she followed the boys out into the Entryway. She dropped them against the wall and silenced the area before releasing her throat closing charm. She eyed them all with her wand still out before saying calmly, "Explain."

James groaned in frustration as he observed his beautiful girlfriend clearly getting the best out of all of them. "They lost THE MAP, Lily."

Lily's eyes widened as she looked over at the other three in surprise. She hadn't been expecting that. James usually had it on him or back in the Heads' Dorm. She hadn't even known that he had lent it out to them, considering none of them really used it anymore since they all knew the Map by heart. The only time the Map had even really been used was when she and James had done patrol. She turned to the only one who would give her a thorough explanation without skating around the topic or stuttering like a fool. "Remus, what happened?"

Remus sighed as he shot an angry glare over at Sirius. "We borrowed the Map from James to do a couple of last minute pranks, just some innocent stuff. However, a trip charm meant for an unsuspecting student tripped Filch's bloody cat by accident and so Filch started yelling at us. He couldn't give us detentions, obviously, since today is our last day, so Sirius decided to bate him about it. In retribution, Filch decided to confiscate EVERY SINGLE THING we had on us. We tried everything to get it back, but we must've tried too hard. Filch seemed to realize its importance, even though he couldn't work it to save his life, and he took it with him. We'll never get it back. It's not like we can go up to McGonagall and explain to her what exactly was confiscated."

Lily frowned. She could see why this was so bothersome, but she knew they shouldn't be taking it out on each other. Looking over the four of them carefully, she could tell that they all appeared angry about the Map being gone, not necessarily at each other. "Well, there's no use crying over spilled milk, boys. Stop the fighting."

Sirius and Peter looked at her funny for suddenly talking about milk. James just nodded wearily because he had heard her use the expression before, but Remus clarified for the other boys with a roll of his eyes, "It's a muggle expression. I swear, you two should have taken Muggle Studies."

Lily sighed and tried to get them to be in better spirits, gesturing around herself. "It's not the end of the world. So you lost the Map! Big deal. Some future pranksters should find it after breaking into Filch's office. It's not like you four haven't done that before. Someone is bound to do it again."

James whined, "But it was supposed to go to _our _kids, Lily, not some kids we don't know."

Lily chuckled as she watched the other three nod along to James' sentiments, all looking like their dreams had been destroyed. "Well, it's not like you don't know how to make the Map again. I'm sure you have the magic written down somewhere. You can make a new Map with your future kids together, although I _do_ feel sorry for the women who will procreate with the likes of all of you."

James scoffed at her teasing with a smile, considering she was dating him seriously and he would be crazy to not eventually ask her to be with him forever. "Right."

Remus smirked, obviously thinking similarly about James and Lily as a couple. "James and I have a copy of the magic we used, Lily. He and I kept detailed notes when we made it."

She nodded, satisfied, and helped them all stand up. "Good. That settles it then. So now can we worry about officially graduating instead?"

Sirius grumbled, "I suppose. Sorry, guys. I didn't mean for that to happen."

James clapped him on the back and looked him over solemnly. "You know, Sirius, I think we should work on getting you to think things through. It might help you out a lot."

Sirius rolled his eyes playfully as they all laughed at him. He assumed a dignified and defiant expression. "I'll have you know that being impulsive has its advantages."

They all gave him grief for that comment and made their way back into the Great Hall to finish up their last lunch at Hogwarts.

James jogged through the corridors so he could make it back to the Great Hall. He knew he was late by only a few minutes, but he had told Lily he would meet her back there once she went to go meet her parents, who were arriving specially along with other muggle parents for the Graduation reception. Their group had all sat together during the House feast where Gryffindor had won the House Cup for the second year in a row. However, directly after the feast, fifth and seventh year prefects, including him as Head Boy since Lily was busy meeting her parents, all had to make sure the rest of the students got back to the Dorms. All students would be going home on the train tomorrow, with the exception of most seventh years who would go back with their parents tonight.

He slowed down so he didn't fall down the stairs and made his way back to the Great Hall entrance, which was now open wide for seventh years, their families, and staff. The sixth year prefects had done rather well. The long tables were gone and in their place were round tables with white, silver, and gold decorations for families and groups of friends to sit with one another. The Professors' table was just as it always was only now with matching décor.

His eyes searched around the large room, and he eventually found the familiar red-haired beauty he had the luxury of calling his girlfriend. He made his way over toward where she and her parents were located, considering his parents, unfortunately, would not be attending. He sighed a bit at that thought, but the pang the absence used to cause him didn't seem to be as unbearable as he thought it might be— perhaps caused by the wonderful people he had around him. He smiled at Mrs. Evans when she noticed him and waved him over. Lily turned around, her pretty green eyes shining, and reached for his hand. "Hey! I was wondering where you got off to. Have trouble with the Gryffindors?"

James shrugged, kissing her on her forehead. "Just some little things. They're all tucked up in Gryffindor Tower now. Where are the others?"

Lily gestured in front of her. "Around. They'll be back here soon. Dumbledore mentioned he would be getting things started soon so we should all get seats anyway."

As Lily started moving all of them toward a table, James suddenly found himself doused in dirty blonde hair with accompanied girlish giggling. "Jimmy! You're a graduate! Who would have thought it possible?"

Mr. and Mrs. Evans were looking on thoughtfully at the girl clinging to their daughter's boyfriend, considering Lily was laughing at James' expense and didn't seem the least bit upset. Lauren eventually loosened her death grip around his neck so he could breathe once more. He merely rolled his eyes at the mischievous hazel eyes in front of him. "I'm _so_ glad you have such confidence in my abilities, Lauren."

She purposefully ruffled his hair to annoy him before turning to look at Lily and her parents with a smile. "Hi. I'm Lauren Shelton. I'm this git's cousin, and you must be Lily's parents?"

James tried in vain to make his hair presentable once more as he automatically corrected her, "Sister."

Lauren gave him a pretty smile at this, as did Lily and her family. Mrs. Evans nodded and gestured between herself and her husband. "Nice to meet you, dear. I'm Emma Evans, and this is my husband, Michael."

The five of them chatted excitedly, with Lily, Lauren, and James answering any questions Lily's parents had about magic and the school— particularly the amazing ceiling. However, James noticed something just out of the corner of his eye, and he paled instantly. "Excuse me for a moment."

His exit and words were so abrupt and panicked that they all turned in the direction James took off toward curiously, and Lauren's breath hitched at what James was obviously concerned about. Sirius was surrounded by his family. Lily turned toward Lauren apprehensively, clearly realizing who the people were around Sirius. "Nothing can happen here, right?"

Lauren shook her head, but she still didn't look appeased. "No, but that doesn't matter if Sirius has a bout of accidental magic. Once was enough from what I hear. James saw him do it. He probably is going over there to calm him down before he does something stupid."

Mr. Evans frowned. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Lily sighed. "James' friend, Sirius Black, doesn't have a very loving family for various wizarding reasons. It's hard to explain. Sirius is the friend who has been living with James."

Considering the many possibilities why Sirius would live with another family rather than his own, the Evans family all looked on warily as James walked right up into the mess that is the Black family, who did not appear to be very nice people to say the least.

James held his breath as he approached a rather stoic Sirius facing his mother, his Aunt Druella, Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Regulus. He looked ready to unleash copious amounts of raw magic just from seeing them all once again, and that's not even mentioning whatever snide comments they were making to Sirius which were only increasing his short temper. James couldn't believe his mother had the audacity to even show up, let alone to try and talk with Sirius. He supposed that she wanted to put Sirius in his place— well, either that or to be there for Bellatrix, her favorite niece. He nodded to all of the disdainful glares he was getting as he stepped up next to Sirius. He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt at the moment. At least Sirius looked a little less stricken because he was no longer alone. "Mrs. Black, Mrs. Black, Bella, Cissa, and Reg… I hope you don't mind, but Sirius is needed elsewhere."

Sirius' mother sneered at him. "Well, if it isn't another little blood traitor! I expected my sons to have more dignity than to be seen with the likes of you. Too bad one of them fell short of my expectations and disregarded my wishes, the disobedient little brat."

Bella snickered. "Well said, Auntie Walburga."

Sirius snorted. "Stuff it, Bella. Why don't you go lick the Dark Lord's socks?"

Her mother held her back and looked at her nephew with disdain. "Do not speak of the Dark Lord with your filthy tongue, boy. You could've been great, you know."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'll talk about whomever I please, Aunt Dru. Speaking of which, MUM, I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to see him go down."

His mother's grey eyes flashed as she pointed her finger menacingly at her son. She was practically screeching as she advanced on Sirius, "Why, you ungrateful _mongrel_! You _scorn_ of my _flesh_! How _dare_ you speak such words!"

James held onto Sirius' shoulders to keep him where he was, struggling to keep Sirius calm. He kept his tone as light as possible, "Always a pleasure, Mrs. Black, but we ought to go sit down."

Sirius' mother turned her cold eyes toward James. She spoke maliciously, "Ahhh, yes, sitting with your parents then, aren't you? Oh, wait! Dear, dear, how could I be so silly?" She smiled cruelly at him before saying pointedly, "Your parents are _dead_."

James remained impassive as the coldness of her words reverberated in his head. He would not show her how much that fact actually bothered him. His words were short, and gone were the pleasantries, "Yes, they are. That does not mean I am alone or that my family is, by any means, gone."

She just chuckled wickedly, enjoying getting a rise out of him. "Keep telling yourself that then, little Jamie. Or why don't you go talk with your mudblood girlfriend's muggle parents? I _suppose_ they ought to do, for a blood traitor and all."

James could no longer hide his anger at those comments, his hazel eyes flashing, and Sirius was now holding onto his shoulders because he had stepped forward unconsciously. He was just about to retort when a pleasant and familiar voice came up from behind him. "Why, Walburga, Druella, it's been a long time. I suggest you all take your seats as I will be starting things shortly."

Both women turned their noses up at Dumbledore, nodding slightly at his words before walking snootily away with Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Regulus in tow, all three of them smiling like Christmas had come early. Sirius looked on angrily before turning to James, slightly concerned. "I'm sorry, James. You know how evil they can be."

James merely nodded and pushed him toward where he had seen Lily and Lauren sit down with Lily's parents. He was about to follow when Dumbledore's hand came to rest on his shoulder. Dumbledore leaned down and spoke quietly, "Do _not_ let them get to you, James. You have all the family you need; not to mention, I see both of your parents everyday, shining through in you."

James smiled weakly at Dumbledore before following Sirius to sit down. Lily looked at him worriedly when she noticed his faraway and sullen demeanor. She leaned in to whisper, "Are you ok, sweetheart?"

He sighed. "I'll be fine."

Lily gave him a look, remaining rather worried about him. Lauren snorted at James' words. "What in the hell did the wench say to you?"

Mr. and Mrs. Evans looked at Lauren, a bit surprised by her harsh comment. Sirius begged her off before she could start though, "Not now, Lauren. We'll talk about it later."

Lily could tell they should move on, but she was curious about Sirius' family. She made sure to hold James' hand comfortingly as she continued hesitantly, "So, was that your Aunt who said those awful things? She looked like an older version of Bellatrix."

Sirius shook his head, frowning. "No, that was my mother. My Aunt Druella is the one with the white-blonde hair. Cissa is the first blonde born into the Black family in generations. We all thought it was weird when Andie had light brown hair, but the blonde is something else."

Lily nodded, somewhat dismayed by the fact that Sirius' mother would be so cruel to both Sirius and James. "Andie isn't here too, is she?"

James shook his head. "She wouldn't be welcome. She was legally disowned by Sirius' aunt and uncle."

Their attention was diverted by Dumbledore who gave a short speech about the school year in general before talking about the seventh year students more specifically. He presented all the seventh years with certificates magically with a wave of his hand. He concluded by acknowledging the prefects and the Heads. He even made both Lily and James stand up. As Lily and James sat back down, his voice had a hint of amusement in it as he asked, "How about the Heads say a few words?"

James felt Lily tense instantly next to him. He gave Dumbledore a knowing look because he had not asked them to prepare anything in advance, which was obviously going to make Lily highly unnerved. He was positive that Dumbledore was well aware of just what he was doing to his girlfriend at the moment too. James could do it with no problem, but thinking of his girlfriend, he responded loudly, "Let Sirius do it."

Sirius looked positively overjoyed at the thought. Dumbledore chuckled before giving him the go ahead. Sirius practically jumped out of his seat, throwing a fist in the air while yelling a resounding, "YES!"

The whole audience looked on in amusement as Sirius bolted to the podium where Dumbledore had been standing. He cleared his throat importantly before beginning gallantly, "Fellow students, staff, families, and families I've never had the pleasure of meeting…"

There were a few snickers as Sirius openly winked at a few different women off toward his left. "As class president…" These words drew snorts and giggles from most of the seventh years, but Sirius continued as if he couldn't tell, "I find it my personal duty to commend us all at finally reaching this plateau in our lives. A milestone where the new generation is beckoned to step up and make something of ourselves. Graduating is not only a time of ending, but beginning. We are now on the verge of starting a new adventure, one that will shape who we are for the rest of our lives."

He paused as his eyes darkened when he noticed the sneers from a table in the back where his 'family' sat. "However, we must not forget where we came from as we now focus on moving forward. Remember your past, your adventures here at Hogwarts, and old friends, but be open to new experiences, new endeavors, and new friends. It's finally time we show everyone what we all can do. Congrats, class of 1978!"

There were cheers all around the room. Lily turned to James, her eyes sparkling. "That was perfect. How'd you know he'd pull something like that off?"

James grinned wickedly. "We're Marauders, Lils. We can do anything."

She nudged him playfully as he laughed. Mr. Evans raised his glass when Sirius finally sat back down. "To the new graduates. May you have plenty of success!"

They all toasted to those sentiments, all of them feeling for the first time, like graduates.

Lily frowned as she wandered around her bedroom. She was back at her home for the first time since Spring Break. They had just finished up the Graduation reception. She had only had a few minutes alone with James before she had left with her parents, but the two of them had quickly talked about what had happened at the reception with Sirius' mother. He had kissed her goodbye, warning her with that charming smile of his that he would be by to see her tomorrow. She sighed as she haphazardly tossed her belongings onto the floor, enlarging her trunk and a few other things. She didn't really want to completely unpack. She was certain that by the time the wedding was over, she would be going crazy trying to get away and move out. She would have to owl Shelley about it. Greta was currently out hunting— well, she assumed she was out hunting. Greta was rather smart though so she was sure that she would figure out Lily was home once more eventually.

Lily changed quickly into a camisole and some shorts before climbing into bed rather tired. She couldn't help but look at the other side of the bed, noting James' absence. At least she would get to see him tomorrow. James. Just thinking about him made her smile. She was lying there for a while, remembering the past evening which had been filled with bouts of laughter and toasts, when she heard a whoosh of sound and found herself staring at a brilliant white light shaped like a stag. She sat up instantly, staring at the patronus in awe of its beauty, when she heard James' voice ring out softly, "I love you."

She smiled in a way that she knew was probably giddy and girly, but she didn't care. The stag dissipated leaving her once again in the regular light of her room. He always seemed to know what to do to make her feel better. She quickly reached out for her own wand, thinking about how much she loved James to send him a reply. As soon as her patronus leapt out of the window, Lily fell back onto her bed, still smiling. Now, she _really_ couldn't wait to see James in the morning.

Meanwhile, James flooed through to his house, holding onto Sirius, with Lauren right behind him. They magically placed all of their things upstairs. He suffered through being forced to tell Lauren exactly what went on with Sirius' mother, much to the amusement of Sirius. He sent them both away in annoyance after that, but the both of them were too tired to really fight him about it. He stopped briefly to talk with his parents, who told him how proud they were of him, before he made his way upstairs. His grandparents also stopped him briefly, his Gran giving him advice about being a grown-up while his grandfather laughed at his expense. He rolled his eyes playfully at their antics, but finally was able to pull himself into his room. Just looking at it reminded him of being back at school, considering his Dorm room had been identical. It also made him think of Lily. He smiled as he thought about her.

He tore off his shirt and got ready for bed. When he finally laid down, it seemed odd to not have a certain beautiful redhead coming to meet him. He twirled his wand absently as he looked around his room, ultimately resting his gaze on a stag figurine Lauren had gotten him after he had transformed fully for the first time. He sat up, realizing that he could still tell Lily he was thinking about her without actually going to see her. He thought of how much he loved her before pointing his wand out in front of him and mumbling, "Expecto patronum."

His patronus immediately galloped out of his window, fading into the night. It may have been five or ten minutes later, but soon a rather bright patronus entered his bedroom. James stared at the vibrant tiger interestedly, considering he had never seen her patronus before, although he had remembered her mentioning that she had finally done it. A tiger fit her personality completely. The tiger rolled around on the carpet playfully before running itself along his legs, and then he heard Lily's pretty voice echo, "I love you too."

James' face broke into a huge smile. It couldn't be healthy to love and miss a person this much. It didn't matter though. Suddenly, the night seemed far too long for him to wait to see Lily again. He laid back down on his bed with a sigh. The faster he was asleep, the faster he would wake up, and the faster he could go and see Lily. He made himself comfortable before mumbling, "Nox."

It wasn't long before he fell asleep.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 – A Wedding to Remember

Lily made her way quickly up the stairs and into her bedroom in quiet frustration. She made sure to seal her room closed and added silencing charms to finish. She was going to kill her sister, literally, if she didn't get away _right_ now. She was supposed to meet James about a half hour ago, but nooo…Petunia needed her to be there 'just a little longer.' If Petunia's sneer was anything to go by, she had done it on purpose because she knew that Lily was going to meet James before the rehearsal dinner that night. It was bad enough that Petunia had told her that under _no_ circumstances could James come to the dinner— wedding party and family only. She had no idea how she was going to survive that evening without him, considering she would be stuck with not only her own family, but stupid Vernon's as well.

James had been nothing but supportive of the whole thing over the last two weeks, even showing up randomly and charming her mother by helping out all so he could spend time with her. Not to mention, the assortment of conjured flowers she kept receiving every morning on her pillow through a placement charm. And because James' conjuring was so spectacular, his flowers didn't actually disappear until they began to wilt a few days later so she now had a nice collection of various flowers on her nightstand. Lily had finally gotten some free time away from the wedding planning the other day so to make up for being so busy, she conspired with his house elf, Reeny, to have a picnic set-up somewhere on the grounds of his extremely large home to surprise him. Reeny had been happy to help, and she would never forget the smile James had had on his face when she told him of the surprise. It made her want to see him again so she didn't hesitate to turn on the spot and apparated straight to James' house.

She appeared in his living room with a crack and plopped down sulkily onto his couch with her head thrown back and eyes closed. "I swear to _God_, if I hear about flower centerpieces _one_ more time, she will die."

There was a rustling of paper and she heard James' chuckle, considering he was sitting there, most likely waiting for her. "But Lily, I wouldn't want to see you locked up in Azkaban, and besides, it'll all be over tomorrow."

She rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes wearily to look at him. His smile seemed to make her feel better though. "I know, but it's still horrible. I'm sorry I'm late. I still have to leave within the hour to go get ready for tonight."

James shrugged. "No big deal. I was reading the Prophet to waste time, and any time I spend with you I like no matter how much, Lily love."

She noticed the Daily Prophet that he must've placed on the coffee table when she had arrived. "Any good news?"

He frowned. "Unfortunately, no. There have been more Ministry disappearances, and more Ministry employees have started acting unusual. People are beginning to think it's the Imperious Curse."

She grumbled. "No good news in the Prophet, my sister is driving me crazy, no NEWT scores yet, no job interviews yet…"

James wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck before whispering in her ear, "But I love you."

She smiled reluctantly as she turned to face her adorable boyfriend, who was trying obviously to make her smile and was succeeding. "I love you too, but—"

She was cut off when James began to kiss her. She couldn't say she minded and didn't even care as he maneuvered their bodies so he was basically lying on top of her. He eventually broke the kiss, smiling down at her. "No buts. I can tell you that I spoke with Dumbledore, and he mentioned that we should be getting NEWT scores sometime this week. Jobs will get the scores they requested at that time as well so we should hear from jobs in the next 2-3 weeks."

She chuckled. "Nice."

James rolled next to her so they were lying more comfortably. He propped his head on his arm as he looked down at her, gently playing with a few strands of her pretty red hair with his free hand. "And don't worry about Petunia. The wedding is tomorrow, and then she'll be gone on her honeymoon. You spoke with Shelley already, and she said she would be happy to let you stay with her once you have your job. By the time Petunia is even back in the country, you will be moved out."

Lily sighed. "I suppose. Where's everyone today? Sirius hasn't interrupted us yet, which I find surprising."

James laughed. "Lauren and Tasha are upstairs in her room, and Sirius is out looking for a flat."

She looked at him surprised. "Sirius is looking for his own place? Why? I figured he'd stay here with you for a while."

He shrugged. "Well, he can't live here forever, and now that we're out of school, he thought it would be good to get his own space. I told him he could stay for however long he wanted, but this is what he wants to do."

She nodded, but looked at him concerned. "I know he'll get a job and all, but where would he have any money right now? His parents didn't look like the type to give him any."

James frowned. "No, they won't give him anything, although he has not been legally disowned. You cannot legally disown a male heir. However, his favorite uncle left him a rather large sum of money. Don't worry, Sirius is well-off."

Lily glanced at him carefully. "When did his uncle pass away? Was that the only family member that liked him?"

James sighed. "Remember, in the beginning of the school year, how Sirius arrived late to the welcoming feast?"

"He was late because of the funeral?"

He nodded sadly. "Yeah. It was obviously very small, and I think Sirius and his cousin, Andie, along with her family were the only ones that went. His uncle was not well-liked within the family so despite being a pure-blood, his death was treated insignificantly."

Lily gave him an odd look. "May I ask why you had a large funeral for your parents then when you clearly didn't want to?"

James gave her a weak smile. "My parents were well-liked and had a lot of friends and clout at the Ministry. It would've been blasphemous if I didn't. Sirius' uncle was old, and it wasn't the same."

She sighed. "I still can't believe you had to do all that."

He nodded wearily, but then his face suddenly brightened. "You smell really good."

She laughed. "Where'd that come from?"

He smiled mischievously. "Not sure, but it always makes me feel better. I can't remember where I've smelt it before though…" But then, his hazel eyes widened. "Wait, I got it. Beginning of sixth year, Potions class. Amortentia. See? I was in love with you even then."

She raised her eyebrows. "You could smell my shampoo in Amortentia?"

He nodded, still grinning with that charming smile of his. She pulled him closer, and he started chuckling when she sniffed him. She continued with a smirk, "Well, not to make your head any bigger than it already is, but I'm pretty sure I could smell your soap in Amortentia back then too."

He started laughing. "No way."

As she continued to watch him laugh, she caught sight of his watch and noticed her time was running out. She didn't want to spend the only time she had with James all day merely chatting. "Yes. Now, shut up, James."

He stopped laughing and looked at her quizzically for a moment before she started snogging him. She felt him smile a bit against her lips before he took control of their kiss, his fingers tangling in her hair. Lily stopped thinking about anything else altogether, and instead, focused on the man she loved before she had to jump right back into the frenzy that was the Dursley wedding.

Sirius grumbled as he pulled at the tie that was now stuck around his throat. He thought he had finished with the damn things when he had graduated. "Now, tell me, why am I going to this stupid wedding with you again?"

James sighed exasperatedly as Sirius asked this question to him for the millionth time that morning. "Because Lily is in the wedding party, and you are going to keep me company while she is busy."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "And tell me, again, why Christina is ALSO going then?"

James fought not to smile. He and Lily had laughed for quite some time over setting up their best mates since they refused to do anything about it themselves. He was the epitome of innocence. "I have no idea. I think Lily said that if I was bringing a friend, then she might as well bring one too. She doesn't exactly get along with her family, remember? We'll need all the friendly faces we can get."

Sirius looked him over a bit at these words before he turned away to face the door to his room, seemingly taking James' word for it. "You ready then?"

James nodded and followed him down the stairs where they met Lauren in the living room as she was walking back from being in the kitchen having grabbed something quick to eat. She looked them both over surprised and slightly impressed. "Why, you two clean up well. Are you leaving now, Jimmy?"

James gave her a look when she seemed eager for them to leave. "Yeah. We should be back late, if at all. We might crash at Lily's house or something. I'm sorry you couldn't come too, but Lily said the less of her friends there, the better. She had to push for Sirius and Christina to be able to come in the first place."

She nodded unconcerned, taking a big bite of the cereal from the bowl she was now holding in front of her. "No biggie. I have plans anyway."

Sirius looked at her inquisitively. "What are you doing then?"

She shrugged. "Meeting Remus."

Both James and Sirius' eyes bulged. They both yelled, "WHAT?"

She gave them an innocent look. "What?"

James looked at her incredulously. "You're going on a DATE with REMUS?"

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Why must every time a girl hangs out with a guy be a date?"

And with that, she made her way upstairs, leaving both Sirius and James staring after her, neither one really noticing that she had never actually answered the question. Females had a way with words. Sirius turned to James, looking at him funny. "Remus didn't mention something to you, did he?"

James shook his head, thinking it over. "I would think Remus would have said something about liking her. I thought he still liked Sophie. Maybe it's not a date?"

Sirius shrugged. "Well, I guess we'll find out later. Let's go before Lily kills you for us being late."

James smirked. "She wouldn't kill me, Padfoot. She'd kill you."

Sirius smiled devilishly. "That is true."

James didn't even want to know what Sirius was thinking about so he just grabbed his arm and apparated them both to Lily's backyard. Thor, Lily's German Shepherd, was there to greet them, bared teeth and all. James hesitantly held out his hand for the beast, and with a few sniffs, the dog backed off. Sirius let out a breath he had been holding. "What a beast."

James laughed. "Thor is scary, but he's finally gotten used to me, I think anyway."

James led Sirius to the backdoor, where he opened it carefully. "Mrs. Evans? Lily?"

Mrs. Evans came into the kitchen area with a smile. "James! I thought I told you to call me Emma… My, you look handsome in your suit! And Sirius! It's good to see you again."

They were both ushered into their living room where Christina was waiting with Mr. Evans. James noticed Sirius hesitate a bit at entering the room, probably caught up in looking at Christina. She was looking rather beautiful in a teal strapless dress, with her long blonde hair left down and curled some around her. James smiled at her. "Hey, Christina. You look lovely today."

Sirius nodded similarly. "Yes. You look beautiful."

Christina blushed slightly at their compliments. "Thank you, boys. I'm sure Lily will take your breath away as well, but she hasn't come downstairs yet, and she ordered me to stay down here."

James frowned. "Why?"

She shrugged. "Not sure. Why don't you go check on her, James? You'll probably have better luck."

He nodded and made his way upstairs, leaving Christina and Sirius in the living room alone. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had made their way over to greet Lily's aunt and uncle, who had arrived with Lily's cousins and their dates. Apparently, everyone was all riding together to the church.

He walked quickly down the hall before knocking on Lily's door. "Lils? You ok in there, beautiful?"

He heard her sigh before her pretty voice said, "No."

His face furrowed, and he hesitantly opened the door. Lily was standing in front of her mirror with a critical expression on her face, but James had no idea why. She looked amazing. The dress fit her perfectly; her hair was half up with the rest curled slightly around her; her bright green eyes captivated him; and her lily pendant glittered as she fingered it carefully. "What's wrong, Lils? You look fantastic. I could stare at you all day."

She turned to him, her face clearly not believing him. "I look horrible, James. This _stupid_ pink dress with my _stupid_ red hair…"

With these words, he closed her door and walked over to her, taking her hands into his. "Stop. You look amazing, Lily. Trust me."

She fingered her red hair before closing her eyes briefly. When she looked back at him, she sighed. "Will you change it?"

He frowned some at her request. "Your sister will be mad. No one will understand."

She nodded thoughtfully, like she had been thinking about this for a while now. "I know she'll be mad, but I don't care anymore because she's been horrible for the last two weeks. I could just say it's temporary hair dye that will wash out, and I wanted to lighten it for the wedding because of the pink. No one will suspect anything."

James was still skeptical. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, this time more certain. "Yes. Please."

James sighed. He couldn't say no when she was pleading with him, and she knew it. He finally spoke resignedly, "What color?"

Her nose wrinkled. "Well, I wanted to do a light brown, but it would be too different. How about that strawberry blonde you did back in Miami? It will just look like I lightened my own hair color."

He waved his wand around reluctantly, and Lily's hair instantly lightened. She turned and looked at herself back in the mirror. Her face still grimaced. "Well, I still hate the pink."

James placed his arms around her from behind and looked her in the eyes through the mirror. "Will you stop this already? You're beautiful. I suppose now you'll feel more comfortable, but I personally will always like your gorgeous red hair, no matter what color you are wearing at the time."

She turned around and looked into his hazel eyes, finally smiling some. "I love you, you know that?"

He kissed her lightly on the lips. "Yup. I love you too. Now, let's go downstairs before Christina and Sirius feel like we left them with the muggles."

She giggled some in regards to their plan for Sirius and Christina, and let James take her hand to lead her downstairs. As soon as they made it into the living room, they heard a gasp. Lily's head turned, and she saw most of her family staring at her in shock, but her cousin, Heather, had her mouth wide open and tried to speak, "Lily…your hair…"

Lily shrugged with an expression of innocence. "I lightened it for the wedding. It'll wash right out after a few showers."

She noticed Sirius and Christina sharing smirks out of the corner of her eye. She knew James must be using his innocent expression as well. Her mother looked at her oddly, probably knowing that magic was involved somehow. She felt slightly guilty about doing it, but she did feel more comfortable now. She held onto James' arm and pulled the two of them along with everyone into the three cars they were all taking. Considering she had James, Christina, and Sirius there with her, she was sure the wedding might actually be fun.

Lily sat awkwardly in the backroom of the church with her sister, Eileen, and Marge. She fumbled absently with her bouquet of pink roses while she tried in vain to not draw attention to herself. Petunia had been glaring at her since she had arrived, due to her devious hair color change. She supposed if her sister would stop glaring, she might actually look pretty in her wedding dress. The white halter dress had a floral pattern to it woven into the satin as it flowed prettily to the floor, with a short train falling behind her. Her blonde hair, normally worn down, was pulled back with a few strands hanging here and there, and her veil was kept rather simple. Petunia's hard pale brown eyes and stern expression did not seem to match the light happiness of her ensemble. Lily thought that it was possible that she might not even be happy to be getting married. This saddened her, considering it was supposed to be the happiest day of her sister's life. Then again, maybe Lily knew nothing about her sister, and her sister was actually happy. Eileen didn't seem to be noticing any problems.

"…then Lily will follow Marge in the procession like we practiced. You'll follow once Lily makes it to the alter, Petunia. It will be just perfect. I saw Vernon a bit ago, and he was so excited."

Petunia frowned at her friend. "I'm glad. I feel very fortunate to have found someone like Vernon, someone who will take care of me."

Lily nodded along with a forced smile, despite Petunia's obvious glare in her direction with her words. She wished Petunia would lay off about the indirect comments about how James was no good. She supposed Petunia was always somewhat civil when he was around, but she had noticed Petunia's glares when he wasn't paying much attention or was talking with her parents. She clearly thought him a freak, just like her. Marge, whose dress looked to be bursting at the seams because she was a tad large, simply nodded authoritatively at Petunia's comment. "I must say, my brother could have chosen no one better. You and he are a perfect match, Petunia."

Petunia nodded curtly. "I must say that I agree. We will have the best family on the block."

Lily barely kept back a roll of her eyes. "Yes, and you'll be completely normal."

Petunia's pale brown eyes became slits. "Yes, of course. Why would anything be ABNORMAL?"

Marge looked at Lily oddly. "Yes, why indeed?"

Lily shrugged. She should've kept her mouth shut. "No reason." She tried to change the subject, "Things should be starting soon, yes?"

Eileen frowned. "I think so. Let me go find your father, Petunia."

Eileen made her way outside, leaving Lily alone with her sister who hated her and Marge who often ignored her. Sure enough, Marge and Petunia began a conversation and ignored her completely. She liked this better though, considering it saved her from any snide commentary. It was only a few minutes or so before Eileen came in with her father. Mr. Evans immediately brightened at seeing his daughters. "Petunia, dear, you look so lovely. I can't believe you're getting married today." He quickly gave her a hug and kissed her forehead. "You ready to go?"

Petunia nodded, actually smiling slightly. "Yes. I think it's time."

Mr. Evans nodded and began leading her to the door, but stopped near Lily, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead too. "You look beautiful too, Lilypad."

Lily smiled at her father, but her smile stiffened when she noticed that Petunia was giving her a death glare. She had no idea why Petunia would be jealous over their father clearly not playing favorites, but treating the two of them equally as he always did. It wasn't really fair for her to be upset. Mr. Evans didn't notice any of this and quickly led Petunia out toward the front of the church. Eileen, as Maid of Honor, made her way to the entrance. The music soon began, and Eileen made her way inside, followed by Marge, and soon, Lily.

Lily was only smiling slightly and somewhat forced as she began walking down the aisle, but when she noticed James, he winked at her and gave her his devilish grin which brightened her mood considerably. When Petunia made her way down the aisle, Lily was actually surprised to see her sister smiling, even if it looked more like a smirk. Vernon was also smiling and actually took Petunia's hands, the only affectionate contact she had ever really seen the two of them have before— in public anyway.

The ceremony bored Lily enormously. Petunia and Vernon went extremely classical, having the longest ceremony possible. Whenever she got married, she would definitely want something much simpler. Her thoughts drifted to James at these thoughts, causing her to smile some. To pass some more time, she often watched the back row in amusement where Christina looked ready to blow a fuse as she sat between James and Sirius, probably trying to keep them under some semblance of control. Lily couldn't stop smiling at them all though because it didn't seem to be working, as both James and Sirius continued talking animatedly together about who knows what while ignoring the fact that Christina sat between them. There had to be a silencing charm or something going on too since no one around the three of them even noticed their behavior.

Her feet were starting to hurt as she stood in her heels. That's when she realized the ceremony had gone on way longer than necessary. She was starting to get impatient when she finally tuned in to hear, "…and you may now kiss the bride."

Lily's head immediately turned at these words, somewhat unconsciously, to see Vernon lean over and kiss her sister chastely on the lips. Lily sighed inwardly. She hoped her sister was happy. If she was, then she would be happy for her. She watched quietly as everyone cheered as her sister and her new husband made their way back down the aisle together, arm-in-arm. Marge pushed her slightly from behind so she began to follow her sister, but as soon as she could, she took off toward James, Sirius, and Christina. She started chuckling as she saw Christina scolding both boys while they had Cheshire grins on their faces. She almost didn't want to know whatever they had done. Almost.

She approached them cautiously, although she had a smile on her face. "What did you two do now?"

The boys just laughed while Christina scowled. "They stuck a handmade sign on the back of one of Vernon's relatives, Lil. The guy was talking about Vernon's drilling business because they work together or something. Don't worry, I got it off before anyone really saw."

Lily tried not to grin. "What'd it say?"

James looked positively gleeful that Lily didn't seem to mind. "It read, 'I like to eat grapes.'"

Sirius and James immediately lost it, but Lily was confused as to why this would be so funny. However, Christina shook her head at Lily's confusion wearily. "Really…don't ask. Please, don't ask."

Lily started giggling. "At least you had some fun during the ceremony. My feet really hurt from standing up in one spot for so long in these heels."

James sobered up and kissed her cheek, smiling still. "You were beautiful. You outshone the bride, Lils. Do you want me to carry you because of your feet?"

Lily shook her head, rolling her eyes playfully. "No, but I probably will have to take off these heels. Looks like you'll have to dance with me while I'm barefoot."

James winked at her. "I'm too good of a dancer to step on your feet so I don't mind. You're a little mover yourself."

Sirius groaned. "Stop being so gross, the both of you. Let's go. Where's this party at anyway?"

Christina pushed him gently. "At the hotel, remember? Mrs. Evans was telling us about it for like twenty minutes before the ceremony started."

Sirius' face lit up. "Oh yeah."

Lily laughed. "Come on. People are starting to head outside for pictures and whatnot. Let's go."

James smiled thoughtfully as he watched Sirius twirling his girlfriend out on the dance floor. Christina and he had been dancing out there with them, but she had wanted to go get a drink. He couldn't help but watch Lily's laughing face as she danced. Her bright green eyes lit up her whole face, turning it into something so beautiful that it was hard for him to look away.

"Oh, I know that look."

James jumped at the sudden voice to his left. When he turned, he was surprised to find Mr. Evans standing next to him. That made him a little uncomfortable, but he nodded to him politely. "Mr. Evans."

Mr. Evans looked at him rather amused and with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you think it's about time you call me Michael?"

James just smiled sheepishly. "Right then."

Mr. Evans sighed and looked back out at his smiling daughter dancing with James' friend. "You know, I'm not as oblivious as my wife thinks I am."

James had no idea what to say to that. He just nodded slightly, and Mr. Evans continued, "I've seen that look many times reflected in the mirror when I look at Emma or when she looks at me. Not to mention, I've seen that look all too often now in Lily's eyes whenever she looks at you, whether you're looking or not."

James seemed to understand. "Well, I am madly in love with your daughter."

Mr. Evans chuckled at his blunt admission. "I'd have to be blind not to see that, James."

The two of them stood in silence, a bit less awkwardly, for a few more moments before they heard Mrs. Evans calling for her husband. Mr. Evans nodded in her direction, but before leaving, he clapped his hand on James' shoulder. "When you're ready to ask her, you have mine and Emma's blessing. I don't think she could have found anyone better."

And with that, he walked away, leaving James to look back at Lily's smiling face. He grinned a bit to himself, thrilled to hear that her parents had no problems whatsoever with their relationship. He couldn't say he had never thought about asking her to marry him already. If he wanted to get technical, he recalled actually asking her three times before during their sixth year. The thought of asking her now seemed a little more daunting, considering it was far more meaningful, but over the last month or so, the idea had been lingering in his head for when it would be appropriate. He did love her with all his heart, but then again, was it right to ask her such a question when there was a war brewing around them? Who got married when there was some powerful guy out there, lurking in the shadows and trying to kill off his family line so he could learn all of the Potter family secrets and obtain a windfall of money? These thoughts saddened him some, considering he would rather see Lily happy and safe as his girlfriend than with him in the same dilemma as his wife. Perhaps it would be better to wait a bit.

Christina walked over to him just then, a drink in her hand. She smiled at him interestedly because he looked to be deep in thought. "You ok, James?"

He nodded, pulling himself from his thoughts. "The punch any good? Or should Sirius and I spike it?"

She laughed. "It's strong enough without you both doing that. It's not bad." She smirked when she saw Sirius dip Lily extravagantly. "I think you better get out there before Sirius steals your girl."

James laughed, not worried at all. "She'd kill him in two minutes flat. He needs someone who is a bit more patient."

Christina nodded, her eyes mischievous. "And that's why Lily and you have conspired to have the both of us here together under false pretenses?"

James looked at her amused. "How long have you known?"

She shrugged. "A while."

James was pleased when it looked like she didn't really mind. "I have a proposition for you then."

She was intrigued. "Ooooh, do tell."

He smirked. "If you go and snog Sirius in the next ten minutes, I'll give you all of my winnings from the bet we've all made to see when you two finally get together."

She looked shocked. "Excuse me? There are bets over this? How much is the win?"

He nodded, laughing once more. "Oh yes. I bet you would get together tonight; Lily says by the end of the weekend; Lauren says by the end of the month; Remus says it'll happen once Sirius gets over his playboy personality, but let's face it— that will never happen; and Peter avoided the whole thing altogether, claiming he wasn't sure. I would win about seven galleons if it happens tonight. I don't need it so I'll just give it to you so you can both go on a nice date. So, how about it?"

Christina snickered. "Lily will know you conspired to win with me."

He just winked and waved off her comment. "She knows everything so that's ok."

She nodded, her blue eyes sparkling. "Ok, you're on."

He took her hand and led her back out onto the dance floor, meeting up with Sirius and Lily. He gave his beautiful girlfriend a charming smile. "May I steal you away, Lils? I brought a pretty lady to make up for it, Padfoot."

Sirius looked Christina up and down, rather obviously and on purpose. "Ehhh, I guess she'll do."

Christina immediately smacked him hard in the chest before walking away pointedly with a roll of her eyes. James could tell she was smiling as she left though, probably because Sirius had looked panicked by her sudden departure and was now following her apologizing profusely. Sirius struggled to keep up with her as he wove through the other dancing couples. "But Chrissy, you're radiant! Gorgeous! Resplendent! Beyond gorgeous, you're..."

James could no longer hear whatever he was saying to her and turned sneakily to his beautiful girlfriend, who was looking at him as if she knew he was up to something. He pulled her into his arms, leaving them on her waist comfortably. "What?"

She was searching his hazel eyes thoroughly. "I'm not sure yet, but I know there's something."

He chuckled and spun her around. He leaned over and kissed her lips gently before resuming his comfortable hold on her. "My lips are sealed."

She smiled at him for his teasing and was about to retort until she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Her mouth dropped open in shock for a moment before she began jumping up and down excitedly. "Oh, Merlin! It's about time!"

James laughed and continued to watch Christina snogging Sirius on the dance floor for a moment or two before turning back to look at Lily instead. "Yes, it really is something, isn't it?"

She turned to him and pointed her finger at him playfully. "This has you written all over it."

He shrugged innocently. "Christina and I worked out a deal."

Lily stepped closer to him, sliding her arms around his neck as they resumed dancing together. She pouted innocently. "You're sneaky. You don't deserve to win the bet."

He chuckled into her ear. "But it was worth it though, finally seeing them together."

She shivered a bit when his warm breath ran over her neck. "I suppose."

They continued to dance with one another, laughing and chatting together, neither one really noticing that they were being watched angrily by a fuming bride. Petunia had a right to be angry though, considering many of the party goers, often commented to her about the happy couple. She had a right to be angry because they were supposed to be saying that sort of thing about her and Vernon. It was her wedding after all. Vernon didn't really notice any of this inner turmoil, but Petunia did manage to drag him onto the dance floor, almost to prove that she was just as happy as her sister was. It wasn't her fault that she would rather keep such affection behind closed doors, or that she would rather stay at home with her new husband than go out and be looked at like her sister obviously liked to do. She was incredibly happy with Vernon. She supposed she would make sure that people knew that.

Lily had no idea what had gotten into her sister. She was smiling happily and dancing merrily with Vernon. While this shouldn't be uncharacteristic of a woman on her wedding day, it just didn't seem to fit with Petunia's personality at all. She was always a bit more reserved. She supposed the punch may have loosened her up a bit. Lily herself was feeling a bit tipsy after having a couple glasses of the stuff along with some champagne over the last few hours. She was making her way back from the bathroom when she was suddenly grabbed by the wrist and pulled into a dark side room. She immediately fought whoever it was until she heard, "Lily, shhh, it's just me."

Lily instantly relaxed in James' arms, but then she smacked him a few times for good measure. "Don't you ever do that to me again! You scared me!"

He chuckled weakly, taking her abuse in stride. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to get you alone for a couple of minutes. What took you so long?"

She rolled her eyes, even though he could probably barely see her do this. "You try going to the bathroom in this dress! And then, I needed to fix my make-up, check my hair—"

She was cut off by James' lips crashing onto hers. She mumbled a bit against them before winding her fingers up into his hair and kissing him back thoroughly. She would never complain about having a chance to snog James. She was so caught up in the moment that she barely felt her back hit the wall, but this could also have been because James' hands, which were on her back, broke the impact. Besides, if the wall wasn't there, the both of them would probably have fallen onto the floor. She moaned softly into his mouth as his hands slid over her sides, coming to rest on her hips so he could pull her body tightly against his. She pulled on his tie to keep him close to her, their kiss getting rather heated. However, that abruptly changed when the room was doused with light and they heard a surprised gasp. They both broke apart hastily, and Lily felt her spirits dampen when she noticed it was Petunia. Her sister's expression was souring quickly at realizing who she had just caught. Lily nodded to her sister awkwardly, "Petunia, hi."

She looked incensed. "What do you two think you are doing in here?"

Lily looked around, noticing that it must just be an extra storage room for the banquet hall they were using for the reception, considering there were extra chairs and folded tables everywhere. However, James answered her sister's question wryly, "I think it's pretty obvious what we were doing."

Lily gave him an amused look, but turned to her sister curiously. "The better question is, what are _you_ doing in here?"

She humphed at the both of them, clearly pissed off. "I was looking for the bathroom! Anyone could walk in here, and you two are doing THAT! What is wrong with you?"

Lily walked closer to her sister, her own anger surfacing. "So what if we were snogging in a dark room? It's not like that's illegal. Why are you so bent out-of-shape about it?"

She was practically screeching, "BECAUSE THIS IS MY WEDDING DAY! Can't you behave yourself for _one_ evening? Why must you act so much like a slag?"

Lily looked furious at this, and even James had shouted his indignation over her comment. Lily stormed over to her sister menacingly. "HOW DARE YOU! James and I have been dating for a long time now so how in the world does that make ME a slag? Do you even understand what you are saying?"

Petunia's pale brown eyes darkened. "Of course, I do! You're Little Miss Perfect, never do anything wrong, and here you are screwing up your life with another freak! Of _course_, I'm concerned and know exactly what I'm saying!"

James held onto Lily's shoulders to keep her from lashing out with uncontrolled magic. He looked at Petunia fiercely. "Just because we can do magic doesn't make us that much different from you."

Lily's bright green eyes flashed as she added, "Not to mention that James has been nothing but nice to you! You don't even know him enough to make a judgment about him! Hell, you don't even know _me_ anymore!"

"Petunia?"

All three of them turned in surprise to see Vernon standing in the doorway Petunia had come in from. Petunia's eyes widened, considering James had mentioned the M word seconds before. Her demeanor changed completely, her tone now reassuring and calm, "Vernon, darling, what is it?"

Vernon looked at the three of them troubled. He could tell his new wife was forcefully being cheerful at the moment, particularly because Lily was looking at her furiously. James was also looking rather annoyed. "Is everything ok? I heard shouting on the way back from the bathroom."

Petunia patted his arm gently. "No, everything's fine. Let's just go, sweetheart."

Lily scoffed. "No, it is _not_ fine! You owe me an apology for what you said."

Petunia stepped toward her sister so she was right in her face. "I owe _you_ an apology! Excuse me, but who's the one who went and 'dyed her hair?' Who's the one who is always so perfect that she gets all the attention? Who's the one trying to ruin my wedding day?"

Lily scowled. "I wouldn't have had to 'dye my hair' if you hadn't been so cruel about the whole thing! I do _not_ get all the attention, and I have _not _done a single thing to ruin your wedding day! I'm wearing pink, I did everything you asked, and everyone here is happy, so why aren't you?"

Vernon jumped between the two girls authoritatively. "Stop this. Lily, I think you should apologize to your sister. How could you upset her today? This is our wedding day. You _always_ do this."

Lily looked at Vernon incredulously. "_Me_? I always start this? Petunia, you are such a _liar_!"

Vernon looked affronted and gazed at Lily disdainfully. "How dare you call Petunia a liar? She was probably the best sister she could be to you, and all you do is start these fights with her."

Lily rolled her eyes and tried to make her way around Vernon, who was rather large and obscuring her sister from view, so she could speak directly to her sister. He had nothing to do with this argument. "I don't believe this. Petunia, I can't believe you!"

However, when Vernon made a grab at Lily to stop her with a hard look on his face, his expression clearly changed to one of surprise as he was suddenly thrown roughly into the wall about ten feet away. The girls turned in surprise to see James looking at Vernon angrily with his wand out. "If you try and touch my girlfriend again, I'll do more than just that."

Petunia screeched, "How could you use magic on him? You cruel, abnormal freaks!"

Lily watched on as Petunia rushed over to her new husband, pulling him up back to his feet. He was red in the face, most likely out of embarrassment and anger. Lily felt James take her hand, squeezing it lightly in comfort, although just his presence behind her made her feel better. Vernon looked at all three of them in confusion. "What's this magic business? I don't understand."

With these words, Petunia burst into tears. She pointed furiously at Lily and James. "How could you! How am I going to explain this? I _hate_ you, Lily!"

Lily frowned at her words, knowing that she didn't really mean them, before saying calmly, "Just tell him the truth, Petunia. We are sisters, you know. It wouldn't be uncommon for magic to flow in our bloodline now. You might have a child who has…talents."

Petunia turned to her in a fury, wiping her tears away. "I will _not_ have a child with your filthy abnormality! Just go. I'll deal with this. I hope you're happy."

Vernon was confused. "Deal with what, Petunia? Why are you crying? What are you all talking about?"

Lily sighed, looking a bit sad. "I'm sorry, Pet. I really am. I just want you to be happy."

Petunia glared at her sister. "Sure you do. I _never_ want to see you again. I will _not_ have anything abnormal in my life."

James felt Lily start to tremble at her sister's hurtful words. He turned to Petunia in frustration. "You don't mean that. She's your sister."

Petunia turned her nose up at him. "For now, I do. Just go."

Lily pulled James to the door Vernon and Petunia had come in from, and as they walked out, they heard Petunia struggling to explain some things to Vernon. James immediately pulled Lily outside for some fresh air. They were standing on a small balcony of sorts a little bit away from the banquet hall. He wrapped his arms around her from behind as the two of them gazed out at the pretty lights of nighttime London. "I'm sorry, Lily."

She turned in his arms and looked at him sadly. She brought a hand to his face gently. "Don't be. It was just she and I. It wasn't anything you did."

His face furrowed. "But if I hadn't pulled you into that room, then nothing would have happened."

Lily's eyes were sparkling as she smiled up at him. "I wasn't complaining. Besides, that argument has been building up for the last two weeks. I just feel bad Vernon found out about everything that way, considering she had tried so hard for him not to know in the first place. Petunia and I will talk again, hopefully under better circumstances though. We both tend to…get away from ourselves when we argue."

He chuckled and kissed her gently. "I can see that. I hope things won't be so horrible between you both after she has some time to cool off."

She rested her forehead against his chest as his arms ran over her back as he held her. After a few minutes, she looked back up at him, her eyes teasing him a little as she pulled on his tie slightly. His lips curved into a grin as he immediately began to kiss her again, picking up where they had left off. She was just beginning to enjoy it when they heard, "Oi! Knock it off, you two. See Chrissy, it's no wonder we couldn't find them! They were snogging!"

James groaned softly into her ear at being interrupted a second time while Lily giggled. "Black, we were expecting you."

James started laughing at this, but Sirius just rolled his eyes at Lily's comment. "I do _not_ always interrupt you both, Red."

His denial just made Lily and James laugh harder. Christina sighed wistfully as she looked over at her new boyfriend. "Sirius, it looks like I'm going to have to keep you busy so you leave our friends alone."

Sirius smiled at her words. "You know, I think I'm going to hold you to that, Ms. Matthews."

They all eventually made their way back into the reception, although James and Lily avoided anyone who asked them the whereabouts of the missing bride and groom, leaving everyone to think and assume whatever they wanted.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28 – The Order of the Phoenix

Lily sighed as she attempted to throw together an outfit of some kind in her brand new bedroom. She smiled thoughtfully as she looked around the newly decorated area. It had only taken a couple of placement charms and a lot of shrinking and enlarging charms to carry all of her possessions and things on over, for which she was grateful. She felt bad for muggles who had to do all the packing and moving the muggle way. It must be so tiring and time-consuming.

It was rather freeing having her own space with no parents around too. She had never been happier when Shelley had allowed her to move in a bit early, considering the wedding fiasco with Petunia. As soon as the wedding reception had finished and Petunia and Vernon were about to depart on their honeymoon, it was clear that Petunia would be upset about the whole thing for a while. It was better for Lily to move out while she was away and not be around when she got back. Sure, Petunia and Vernon had bought this house out in Little Winging and weren't staying with her parents, but that didn't change the fact that Petunia would be around more if Lily was still living at home.

She made a face at the ugly light blue t-shirt she had pulled out of her closet before digging around further for a better one. Since no NEWT scores had come back as of yet, no one had any job interviews so their little group tended to just hang out while they all waited. As soon as a job got in the way, they would all be forced to act more adult and wouldn't have as much time for being lazy together anymore. They were taking advantage of it while they all still could.

Lily grumbled a bit at her clothing choices, but eventually settled on some black and white t-shirt she was sure she hadn't even seen for the last three years. She had been living in scarlet and gold too long so her muggle clothes had always been shoved away and rarely got any good use. She supposed a shopping day would be coming soon. She quickly got changed and was fixing her hair when there was a knock on her door. "Come in."

The door clicked open and Shelley was standing there in her mint green Healer robes with her light brown hair up in a ponytail. She had a bright smile on her face, her blue eyes sparkling happily. "Ooooh, it's so nice to have a roommate again. It got so lonely here sometimes. I actually missed Hogwarts."

Lily laughed. "I know! It was so weird for me to be the only girl in the Heads' Dorm back at Hogwarts this past year. I was so used to having girls living around me all the time!"

Shelley sighed. "Well, good! I've missed having you around. We'll have to catch up some more when I don't have to work. I've been so busy this past week."

Lily waved a hand at her. "We'll have plenty of time to do that. I'll most likely be working at the Ministry which isn't that far from St. Mungo's so you, me, and Christina will have to do lunch all of the time."

She smirked. "I'm sure James will get some lunches too— not to mention that I _do_ have lunch dates of my own every once in a while, Lily."

Lily rolled her eyes playfully. "I know that! You went on and on about that Devon character in some your letters. Is loverboy still in the picture?"

Shelley blushed. "Not sure. We've still been hanging out a bit, but it doesn't feel exclusive yet."

Lily giggled. "_Yet_."

Shelley gave her a look. "Ok, I have to get going, but I'll see you tonight."

Lily said her goodbyes, but before Shelley left, she looked back at Lily innocently. "Oh, and there's something on the table for you…Hogwarts sealed."

Lily perked up instantly, causing Shelley to laugh as she apparated away with a pop. She sprinted out into the kitchen, squealing a bit as she saw her NEWT scores lying there ready to be opened. She ripped at the envelope like a kid on Christmas morning, her eyes eagerly looking over her scores. She was rather pleased with herself.

_Ancient Runes – O_

_Arithmancy – O_

_Care of Magical Creatures – E_

_Charms – O+_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts – O_

_Herbology – O_

_Potions – O+_

_Transfiguration – E_

_+ denotes 'with distinction'_

Lily was ecstatic with her results and before she really thought about what she was doing, she found herself apparating to Potter Manor. She appeared with a crack in James' living room before making her way toward the dining room, knowing that wherever there was food was where the boys would be this early in the morning. Sure enough, she heard Sirius' distinct laughter coming from that direction. She pushed open the door to see James smiling as he ate his breakfast while Lauren was scowling and Sirius was laughing at Lauren. She gave her boyfriend a pretty smile as she sat down next to him, briefly saying hello to the other two and his parents hanging on the wall. "What is so funny?"

James smiled guiltily at her. "Sirius and I bet Lauren that you would apparate here as soon as you found out your scores, and judging by that piece of paper in your hand, Lils, I do believe we've won."

Lauren grumbled. "You couldn't have waited like an extra ten minutes, Lily? I mean, you do like to do your hair and stuff, right?"

Lily started laughing. "You should have known better to have made that bet, Lauren! So, how'd you both do? I'm so excited."

James gave her a quick kiss on her forehead before tossing her his scores and turning back to his breakfast with a smile. Lily smiled as she looked them over. He had done equally well.

_Care of Magical Creatures – E_

_Charms – E_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts – O_

_Divination – E_

_Herbology – E_

_Potions – E_

_Transfiguration – O+_

_+ denotes 'with distinction'_

"And you were so worried about Potions. You did just fine after all."

James nodded. "And I'm sure you did just fine in Transfiguration too?" He looked over her sheet and whistled. "Hell, you didn't even _need_ Transfiguration with those scores!"

His mother sighed audibly. "Language, sweetheart."

He smiled sheepishly back at his mother's portrait. "Sorry, Mum."

Lily giggled as she reached over for Sirius' scores.

_Charms – E_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts – O_

_Divination – O_

_Herbology – E_

_Potions – E_

_Transfiguration – O+_

_+ denotes 'with distinction'_

Her mouth dropped open in shock. "You actually _did_ get an E in Charms."

Sirius looked on proudly. "Told you so, Red. Ha! Bet you'll believe me next time!" He pointed eagerly at his sheet. "What about my O in Divination? That took some work, you know. I had Professor Merryweather in tears my acting was so good."

Lauren giggled, but Lily was shocked. "You _faked_ your way through your Divination NEWT?"

Sirius nodded, seemingly not at all concerned for basically lying on an exam. "Like _James_ didn't fake himself an E on his Divination exam… Anyway, all it proves is who the better actor was. Yeah, and that was _me_, Prongs! I _told_ you I was the better one."

James rolled his eyes, looking at Sirius mischievously. "I really didn't try all that hard. Now perhaps if we would've made a _bet_ on that, I would've actually _tried_ on the exam and everyone here knows _I_ would have beaten you."

Lauren shook her head. "Why do you two always turn everything into a competition?"

Lily chuckled. "I stopped trying to figure it out, Lauren. It's boy logic."

Sirius puffed up his chest. "_Man_ logic, Red. Man logic."

Lauren hit Sirius upside the head, and Sirius immediately began play-fighting and arguing with Lauren, like they were siblings themselves. James turned to Lily, ignoring them. "Did you want—"

Before he could even finish or she could even reply, a plate set-up suddenly appeared in front of her. Lily jumped at the magical appearance, but James just sighed in aggravation before pounding his fist on the table saying, "Reeny! I _asked_ you not to read my thoughts anymore!"

Reeny appeared with a crack, fingering her elvish ears with her big blue eyes looking concerned and scared. "Sorry, James. Reeny forgot. Should Reeny go—"

James shook his head quickly, his eyes wide, immediately cutting her off. "NO! I mean— no, I'm not mad. Don't go…do anything to yourself. Just…_please_ don't read my thoughts, ok?"

Reeny nodded, still looking upset for agitating James, but she disappeared with a crack. His mother looked at him disapprovingly. "James, she doesn't mean it. You're her only true master now, and she and the other house elves don't have much to do."

James sighed. "I know, but still. She's been doing it all week, and it's been really, really creepy."

Lauren and Sirius were giggling about it, but Lily was too unfamiliar with house elves to really understand. So this was why James had not wanted to go back to his house over the past week. He had helped her move into Shelley's, stayed over a few nights, and took her out a bunch of times instead. "Why, what's been happening here?"

Sirius started laughing outright. "I remember him screaming in his shower because he had forgotten something back in his room and it suddenly appeared for him. He thought he was doing some of the things himself using some weird wandless magic, but he finally heard Reeny mention that she had been trying to be an extra good house elf by 'anticipating his needs.'"

Lauren was still smiling. "It was hilarious. She's been a bit better, but that _is_ like the sixth time James has asked her to stop."

Lily was trying not to laugh for James' benefit, but she couldn't help it when she started giggling at the situation. She was sure there were many other awkward moments until it had been figured out, considering James rarely got frustrated that easily. He just rolled his eyes at her, smiling amusedly. "Sure, laugh it up, Lils. I'll get you back somehow."

They all hung out for the day, doing this or that and meeting up with the rest of their group. Sirius and Christina often went out on their own, basking in the newness of their relationship. It was really adorable to watch them together. It was clearly the happiest Lily had seen the two of them. Sirius, while still an outrageous flirt, was surprisingly a very good boyfriend. James mentioned to Lily one night that Sirius never really considered his past flings to be girlfriends so for him to be addressing Christina as his girlfriend, he must really like her a lot. James also constantly brought up Lauren and Remus in an overprotective fashion, but the two of them would merely smile innocently together whenever they were addressed as a couple. Lily thought it was pretty funny, but it was even more so when Lauren confided in her and said that it was all a ruse and she was merely helping Remus to talk with Sophie. Lily hadn't quite believed her, considering Lauren and Remus would make a really good couple, but Lauren had disagreed, saying that although they had kissed once almost a year before, it never really went anywhere and they were just really good friends.

Over the next coming days, it wasn't long before job interviews started pouring in. With NEWT scores like theirs, they could basically choose whatever they wanted. Lily was the first to get offers from the Dept. of International Magical Cooperation, the Dept. of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, and the Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement. She reluctantly set up interviews with those locations, but it finally occurred to her that she really wanted to hear from the Dept. of Mysteries. James had been ecstatic when he finally received his admittance into the Auror Division. He had apparated straight over to Shelley's to see Lily as soon as he got his letter. Since no interview was necessary, he would begin his training the following Monday. Sirius eventually received his admittance as well so everyone was incredibly excited. There was also a minor moment leaving James in hysterics when he received a letter from the Goblins stating that he would make an excellent Cursebreaker despite never having taken Ancient Runes, but since they had heard he had accepted his position with the Ministry, they would appreciate it if he would tell them how to remove the ward from his application so they could discard it.

By the end of the week, Peter had reluctantly started working in Diagon Alley as a store clerk for Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop because his NEWT scores hadn't been enough to qualify him at the Ministry, but his reputation as a Marauder seemed to help his chances. He wasn't that upset about his job though, considering he was going to get to eat at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor whenever he wanted. After interviewing with the Dept. of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, Christina became the newest member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. She would start her training, which would be relatively short, around the same time as James and Sirius.

It wasn't until Remus received all of his applications back with the word 'DENIED' stamped on them did reality all hit them. Apparently, regardless of his amazingly good NEWT scores, he was still denied any position within the Ministry on the basis of being a werewolf. Remus took the loss really hard. He isolated himself from the group and refused to take any sympathy about his situation for a few days until James and Sirius had physically dragged him out to join them. Lauren told Lily that Remus had decided to forego his chances with Sophie too, considering he thought she, let alone any female, would never want to be with someone who couldn't even make a living. Hearing that made Lily feel awful, particularly because she had been feeling upset over not hearing back from the Dept. of Mysteries. Now, her problems seemed so miniscule.

It wasn't until James, Sirius, Christina, and Peter all started their jobs the following week that Lily finally received her interview with the Dept. of Mysteries. The note had asked her to come down that afternoon so Lily immediately sprang into action, getting ready and looking professional. She was beyond nervous and wished that she could have talked to James before this had happened so he could have calmed her down. She somehow apparated successfully to the Ministry and made her way onto the lift, which was filled with all sorts of wizards and witches. As she was going down, the lift would mention what floors belonged to which Departments, but all it did was further her anxiety, considering the Dept. of Mysteries was on the last floor. She eventually was the only one left on the lift, and she walked out hesitantly as she reached her destination. She walked down a rather dark and menacing hallway alit with blue-flamed torches, which had been described in her note, before she came to a main black door. She knocked hesitantly, and she was surprised when the door merely opened for her. If she had been confused before, it was nothing compared to what she felt when she entered into a circular room with twelve handle-less black doors. This had not been mentioned in the note. She gently closed the door behind her, but she quickly realized her mistake when the thirteen doors, including the one she had come in from, spun ferociously around her, leaving her feeling incredibly disoriented. She was actually rather scared, but then she remembered she was a witch. She pulled out her wand and asked authoritatively, "Which door will take me to see Mr. Allen Croaker?"

It appeared that was all she had to do, as a door to her left seemed to glow slightly. She smiled and made her way towards the door, knocking a second time. The door opened after a few moments, and she found herself looking into the friendly eyes of a middle-aged man. "Ahh, you must be Miss Lily Evans! I'm Allen Croaker. Do come in, my dear. It's lovely to have a fresh face around here, I must say! We rarely hire anyone these days, but your application surprised us. With NEWT scores like yours, I have a feeling we would be the perfect place for you to work!"

Lily was flattered. She hadn't thought she had gotten the job quite yet, but it was starting to seem like she had. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Croaker. I thought this would be an interview though…"

Mr. Croaker waved a hand at her. "Oh, hosh tosh! None of that around here. If we extend an offer to someone, it is usually a guarantee. You will be the first employee we have hired in the last five years, that is, if you accept?"

Lily smiled brightly, clearly thrilled with this news. "Wow. I would love to, but I suppose I would like to hear more about what you all do, before I confirm wholeheartedly, if that's alright?"

Mr. Croaker grinned. "Of course, you're curious! Perfect trait when you work here, you know! We deal with anything you could imagine that would cause curiosity. I can tell you that we have twelve sub-departments. As a new employee, we encourage you to dabble in whichever sub-department you wish before settling in where your interests lie to do the research you enjoy. The twelve sub-departments include the planets room, the brain room, the life room, the death room, the love room, the time room, the room of prophecies, experimental charms, experimental potions, experimental transfiguration, other experimental magic, and the room of archival information. This is a lot to take in, but the basic premise of being an employee here is to complete research. Once research has been thoroughly tested and completed, reports are given to me. I decide whether any advances or inventions should be released into the wizarding world or whether that information would be better kept secret within our archives. Our archives have tons of information which could be detrimental if released to the wizarding world at large, but at the same time, could be a basis for your research here. Our aim is to understand life's mysteries. Needless to say, secrecy is crucial to this job and is something you would be required to maintain, but this is usually trivial and no one seems to have any trouble with it."

Lily was floored. This sounded like her dream job. She was now incredibly excited and wanted to start straight away. The books she would get to read here and the work she could do sounded perfect. "That would be amazing! How come you don't hire new people that often though?"

Mr. Croaker sighed. "Well, you see, the wizards and witches that are hired here, yourself included mind you, have a rare and special gift in the craft. You, my dear, are a dab hand at Potions and are said to be one of the most innovative Charms students in a long time. Now, students like yourself do not come along every year. The ideal employee is one who would prefer to research rather than to do other boring operational jobs. You have already shown your ability to question the norm by adjusting Potions to make them better or to create Charms to suit your needs. These are only two areas in which you excel, I'm sure, although these are the ones we were told most about when we have asked around about your capabilities. We find interviews to be tedious, but we do contact persons who have known you or have seen your abilities in order to find out whether or not you would fit in here. So, what I'm trying to say is hiring is rare because the employees we need are scarce."

Lily was blushing, she was sure of it. No one had rattled on about her achievements so much. Well, she supposed James used to follow her around and shower her with compliments. Actually, he still tended to do that. She would be stupid to say no to this job. "Mr. Croaker, I would love to work here."

Mr. Croaker chuckled. "Then, I think you should call me Allen. Let me show you around. You can start officially tomorrow."

James dropped off all of his things in his bedroom and wanted nothing more than to lie on his bed and fall asleep. It was only the third day, but being in the Auror training program was like going through three quidditch practices in a row with increased physical exertion because they were currently learning muggle style fighting and evasion while getting in tip top shape. On the upside, both Sirius and himself had been granted special permission to take the exam for the concealment and disguise portion of the Auror training due to their amazing Transfiguration NEWTs and with McGonagall's recommendations. This would allow them to finish their Auror training in two and a half years rather than three so long as they passed.

Instead of dropping onto his bed, he pushed himself to go take a shower. Lily was supposed to be apparating over any time now. She had mentioned she would meet him after he was done with work. He hoped she had heard something back about the Dept. of Mysteries, considering she was holding back saying yes to the other positions she had interviewed for because of that. After his shower, he quickly got dressed and made his way downstairs to grab something quick to eat. It had been almost an hour before he was starting to get a little concerned about his girlfriend. She was rarely late without a reason, but he couldn't think of anything she had been doing that day that would have caused her delay.

He was just thinking he would go over to see her if she didn't arrive soon when he heard a crack in the living room. He made his way out of the kitchen, only to be greeted by a very, very happy Lily. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, smiling in such an infectious way that he couldn't help smiling at her himself. "Hey, you. I was wondering where you were."

It was then that he realized that she had on one of her black robes over her clothes and was looking rather pretty with her hair pulled back. She just jumped up and down excitedly in his arms. "I got the job! I got the job!"

He laughed, loving the sparkle she had in her bright green eyes. "Really? They would have been stupid to pass you up. I'm so happy for you. I should take you out to celebrate."

Lily really couldn't stop smiling. After just getting to look around the unusual office all afternoon, she was so excited to really begin looking at what projects the other employees were working on tomorrow. "Sure."

James leaned down and kissed her softly. "You look beautiful."

She blushed slightly and mumbled against his lips, "Ever the charmer."

He grinned some before kissing her more deeply, his hands sliding into her hair. He felt her fingers grazing down his chest before sliding around his back so her body was right up against his. Two bright flashes of fire ruined their moment. James groaned, resting his forehead against hers. "Will we _ever_ be left alone for two minutes?"

Lily giggled. "Probably not, James. Besides, these are from Dumbledore. They're likely to be important."

He sighed and kissed her forehead before reaching his hand out to summon the two pieces of parchment with their names on them up from the floor. He handed Lily hers before opening his. They were rather short, to the point, and strong indicators of something important going on. Both letters said the same thing:

_Come to the following address at 10pm. Meet at the top floor. Tell no one else._

_355 Parkside Lane_

_London_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Lily frowned and looked over at James. "Are you sure these are from Dumbledore? They seem impersonal and not his style."

James was equally skeptical, but Fawkes had delivered them. "They're definitely from him. Since you and I got them and we're meeting at some obscure location, I'm imagining we're not the only ones. It seems like a secret meeting of some kind."

Lily was confused. "Did something happen? I don't get the Daily Prophet."

James shrugged. "I was in training all day. I never saw the Prophet this morning, but they haven't exactly been forthcoming with information either so I doubt it would give us any clues."

Lily sighed. "Well, I guess we'll just have to go and see."

James smiled at her slightly disappointed look. He nudged her gently. "I'm still taking you out somewhere. Let's go to a late dinner, just you and me. We can just go to this after."

Lily's green eyes lit up when she looked back over at him. "Yeah?"

James nodded, chuckling. "Yup. However…"

Lily was curious when he started looking her over disapprovingly. "What?"

James just grinned naughtily. "I think I need to get you out of those clothes first."

Lily's eyes widened as she blushed at his forwardness. "James!"

He made a move to grab her, but Lily managed to dodge him as she began running away, giggling the whole time. James just followed stealthily, considering she was heading for the stairs anyway. "I'll catch you…"

Lily laughed as she continued up the stairs, playfully evading James' efforts to grab a hold of her. "Maybe you will, maybe you won't…"

They were laughing as they raced up into the West Wing, but when Lily reached his bedroom door first, she fumbled with his door handle so James was able to get a hold of her. She shivered when she felt his warm breath on her neck as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, pinning her tightly against his body. He chuckled evilly into her ear. "Lookie who I caught…"

Lily's breath hitched as she felt James' mouth latch onto her neck. She was vaguely aware of reaching out to actually open up his door, but by the time it was open, she had turned in his arms and she was thoroughly snogging him. There wasn't much else the two of them thought about after that.

"Are we at the right place?"

James looked back at Lily, equally uncertain. After thoroughly enjoying one another's company back in James' bedroom, they had finally gotten ready and he had taken her out to a rather nice muggle restaurant in downtown London. They had walked through the downtown area for a while, but it was now about 9:45pm, and they immediately apparated to the address they had been given. However, the building in front of them didn't look like it had been used for years and was only about four floors. There were next to no windows either. "Well, this is the address. I suppose he would want somewhere out of the way, but…"

She twirled her wand at the building a bit, and James noticed the door handle glisten. "What is it?"

Lily gave him a smile. "Well, there's no real magic on the building except for the door handle. There's a charm on it to permit entrance to only certain persons. That sounds promising."

James looked around and could sense no one near. He grasped her hand and pulled her to the door. "Ok, well, then let's give it a go."

They made it inside with no problems. It was a giant warehouse that looked to no longer be in use. As they made their way upstairs, from a stairwell at the far end of the building, they wandered until they heard familiar laughter above them so they knew they had to be in the right place. If Sirius and Christina were there, then things must be ok. They found another stairwell hidden further along the second floor which led to a bunch of rooms on the top floor. James hesitantly opened the door to the one room where all of the noise seemed to be stemming from and was surprised to see a number of people there; some he recognized, others he didn't. His wand lowered as he made his way inside with Lily behind him. Sirius whistled at them both. "Prongsie, what are you two so dressed up for?"

James rolled his eyes as he looked back at his beautiful girlfriend in her pretty skirt and camisole and himself in a nice pair of jeans and a button down shirt. "Just because _you_ don't dress up for your dates, Padfoot, doesn't mean that _I_ don't. Besides, Lily here is the first Unspeakable in five years. We had to go out and celebrate."

Christina squealed. "REALLY! You got it, Lily! Just like we all said you would!"

A smiling Lily immediately made her way over to Christina so they could talk. James didn't hesitate to conjure her a chair next to Christina and himself one near Sirius. He took another glance around the room, noting a few people nodding his way politely. Most people knew who he was at any rate, generally because of his name. He nodded to Alastor Moody, who was hiding in the back, leaning against the wall. He had always been a bit paranoid about having people standing behind him.

James took his seat next to Sirius. "So do you know what's going on?"

Sirius shook his head. "No clue really. Chrissy and I got notes from Fawkes when we were eating dinner at her place."

James frowned and opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted, "Prongs! Padfoot! Thank goodness you're here. I was afraid I had been set up or something."

James smiled. "Hey, Wormtail."

Sirius nodded Peter's way, grinning charmingly. "We would never set you up, Wormy."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Sure you wouldn't, and the time in Myrtle's bathroom was 'just an accident.'"

James and Sirius snickered over that. They were soon joined by Remus, who was looking haggard. The full moon was tomorrow night. Unfortunately, because of Auror training, Sirius and James would not be able to join him. They had to be awake when they got their asses kicked during training or they would get into trouble. They would have to wait for the full moon to fall on a Friday or Saturday night. Remus sort of slumped into a chair James conjured for him before looking over at the three of them wearily. "Hey, guys."

James looked him over before speaking quietly, "Didn't Lily give you that potion, Moony?"

Remus sighed. "I didn't ration it out correctly. I used the last of it yesterday."

Sirius shook his head at him. "You should keep on top of that. It takes her like three days to make, right?"

Remus nodded sadly. "I think so. There's no way I could make it myself. It's immensely complicated. Potions is definitely not my area. I have some more suggestions for her anyway. I feel like a test dummy."

James punched his shoulder, only lightly though because he looked so fragile. "You should be proud to be her test dummy. You get to reap all of the benefits because she's brilliant."

Remus chuckled. "I suppose. When I am on the potion, I feel much better."

There was suddenly a large flash of fire and Dumbledore arrived with Fawkes. He nodded to everyone, a small smile gracing his features. "Hello, everyone. How nice to see that you all arrived safely. Excellent, excellent."

Everyone smiled at him. Dumbledore surveyed the room briefly, before nodding. "Only two missing. I figured they would be late anyway. We can get started. I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here. Well, we all share common beliefs. There is a growing problem and the action being taken against it is not enough. I believe it is time we took matters into our own hands. I give you the creation of the Order of the Phoenix. Catchy name, if I do say so myself…"

There were a few snickers at this. Dumbledore smiled before continuing, "Yes, well, I believe we may be left alone in this fight against a menace that I have personally seen mature into a dangerous individual. The time to act is now. There has been enough evidence that he has been collecting followers. Lord Voldemort is no longer just an idle threat. We need to have some people as an opposition."

A few people looked stricken by the use of his name, and Dumbledore frowned. "Do not fear his name. He is but a wizard. True, he is quite a powerful wizard who has studied magic far longer and in more depth than most, but what he lacks most of all is something to fight for. We all have that. I hope you all will—"

There were two simultaneous cracks in the room. Two redheaded men, grinning like fools, started talking immediately to Dumbledore, "Sorry, Professor—"

"—yeah, sorry about that, but you know Molly—"

"—her cooking is so good—"

"—not to mention, the little rascals—"

"—wouldn't leave us alone—"

"—naturally, of course—"

"—considering we're by far cooler than poor Arthur—"

"—we don't know how he stands it really. We had to put the munchkins to bed—"

"—and now, we imagine poor Mollikins is getting knocked up again—"

"—after she just had her set of twins this past April, mind you—"

"—quite sad really, the contraception charm is supposed to work—"

Dumbledore cut them off with a wave of his hand and some chuckling. "Thank you, boys. I'm sure you had valid reasons for your tardiness. I know firsthand that Molly's cooking is remarkable. Now, I suppose without further ado, we should all introduce ourselves before we go any further. Boys?"

One of the redheaded men pointed to his brother before pointing to himself. "Fabian and Gideon Prewett. Class of 1968."

Fabian winked at them all. "Rogue Aurors since 1971."

Alastor Moody rolled his eyes. "Bane of my existence, if you ask me. Alastor Moody, Auror."

A man around Dumbledore's age piped up, "Elphias Doge. I'm an old friend of Albus' from school."

A vibrant young woman with brown hair and brown eyes smiled at everyone cheekily. "Dorcas Meadowes, currently hiding away from the Ministry because they don't seem to like my 'style.'"

Alastor rolled his eyes. "It's because you have quite the sleight of hand, my dear."

Dorcas chuckled. "Can't say I've gotten past, Alastor, but as for others, well…"

A girl near her nudged her playfully. She had curly dark brown hair and pale blue eyes. They were obviously friends. "Marlene McKinnon. I actually still work for the Ministry in the Magical Law Enforcement office. Lots of upheavals going on there."

A man behind the girls tipped his hat which covered his head full of dark blonde hair. "Sturgis Podmore, Unspeakable."

A man in a deep purple cloak came forward excitedly. "Deladus Diggle, no real job at the moment."

Alastor gave him a look as well. "Except for all that experimenting with fireworks in your basement."

A woman who looked about thirty or so nodded to the room before speaking quietly, "Emmeline Vance, recent widow."

Everyone frowned at this. Her husband, Patrick Vance, had been murdered in the muggleborn attack back in April. Behind her were two familiar faces. The girl winked. "Frank and Alice Longbottom, both currently in Auror training."

Lily and Christina squealed happily at this news. Lily smiled at her. "When did this happen?"

Alice shrugged innocently. "We eloped right after graduation."

Frank looked around the room sheepishly. "You all know my mother, right? Crazy, she is. We did _not_ want to have a wedding the way she would have made us have one."

Deladus laughed heartily at this. "She was, and still is, quite the formidable witch, Frank."

A rather handsome man, clearly in his late thirties but looking like he was still in his twenties smiled at the room charmingly. "Caradoc Dearborn, another Ministry employee for the Magical Law Enforcement office."

A younger man James recognized vaguely was next. "Benjy Fenwick. Class of 1973. Currently unemployed, but I have been doing odd jobs around Hogsmeade."

A young black-haired witch came forward. "Hestia Morton. Class of 1974. I also work at the Ministry, but with the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad."

Another man nodded to the room. "Edgar Bones. I work in the Ministry with my sister, Amelia. She's higher up than me in the Magical Law Enforcement office so she opted not to come. She doesn't want to cause trouble. She likes to remain neutral."

That brought everyone's attention to their group, since they were the last remaining. James had no qualms starting things off. "James Potter, currently in Auror training."

Sirius nodded hesitantly. His name would cause a few eyebrows for sure. "Sirius Black, also currently in Auror training."

Sure enough, some people looked around uneasily so Sirius continued with a smirk, "Gryffindor."

This caused some light-hearted chuckling. Remus pushed at Sirius, although he looked somewhat sad. "Remus Lupin, currently unemployed, but looking for work."

Peter was nervous and uneasy with everyone's eyes on him. "Peter Pettigrew, currently working at Gambol's in Diagon Alley."

Christina nodded to the room. "Christina Matthews, currently working with the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad."

Lily smiled. "Lily Evans, the new Unspeakable."

Alastor looked at her with sadness. "You should've been an Auror, lass."

Sturgis chuckled. "Nah, she's working in the best department, Moody. Don't be such a spoilsport."

Dumbledore hushed everyone once more. "Well, now that we're all introduced, I can fill you in on the information that I know which obviously has not been released at large and then we can go from there. There have been a number of unusual muggle incidents occurring all over the area over the last eight months. They have been increasingly odd, but clearly magical. I suggest all of you take an interest in muggle news, reporting to me anything you find to be peculiar or magical in nature. All this indicates to me is that Voldemort has decided to test out his new ideas on unsuspecting individuals who can't fight back. We should not let this occur, but it, of course, is not our most pressing concern although I feel it is important. The most pressing concern is the fact that Voldemort has done some mass recruitment over the past year. He now has large numbers and more dark creatures following his behest than I thought possible. There has been a higher number of deaths in the muggle and magical community alike linked to what I think to be vampires. Not only that, but I feel that the giants have been causing the ruckus in the north and the dementors have been increasingly unstable at Azkaban, according to the Ministry. There also have been reports of increased numbers of werewolves in the area, more than have thought to be before. Either this is because they are creating more or because they are flocking to this area for a reason."

Everyone appeared to look rather ill at these statements. Nobody wanted vampires, giants, dementors, and werewolves out on the loose. Remus particularly looked rather peaky at these comments, but no one knew of his problem except their group and Dumbledore. Dumbledore sighed before continuing, "I know most of you have not heard, you especially Sirius, but there have also been two recent weddings we should be wary of. Bellatrix Black has just married Rodolphus Lestrange in a double wedding with her sister Narcissa marrying Lucius Malfoy."

Sirius jumped out of his seat, clearly surprised. "But Narcissa isn't even finished with school! She just took her OWLs!"

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I have received word that Narcissa will not be returning for her NEWT studies. She is, unfortunately, stuck by her family's decisions. I also had hopes that she might be different. Do you have any other insights about this, Sirius?"

Sirius frowned as he sat back down. "I haven't been living at home for the last two years, Professor, as you well know. I remember hearing about Bella being betrothed to Rodolphus, which comes as no surprise that it went through. However, I can tell you that she does not love the guy, and it is a marriage of convenience. Bella loves one man. His name is Voldemort. But Narcissa… Well, she has no backbone like my brother, Reg. She probably won't be a threat and will likely be a trophy wife because she's beautiful. Reg has also been asked to join up, and because of my mother, he likely will or already has. I imagine he has been given permission to skip into seventh year like had been proposed?"

Everyone looked on slightly dumbfounded by Sirius' revelations. James and their group were less surprised. Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, Regulus is very smart and talented; there was no way I could not grant permission. I have heard he has been recruited also."

Elphias looked on horrified. "But they're so young, Albus. Why would Voldemort take them into his group?"

Dumbledore sighed. "The young are very talented and capable, as shown by the recent graduates you have before you. Some have been brought up tainted with the beliefs they now possess, leading them to join with Voldemort and his cause as soon as possible. All this information shows is that Voldemort has not only dark creatures on his side, but many able wizards and witches as well. The young are not his only catch. Voldemort has had followers since his time at Hogwarts. They claim to be his friends, but I believe different. They are not his friends. They are merely more persons for him to control. These old alliances have him set with a solid group of followers."

Emmeline looked at him wearily. "But what should we do then, Albus? How can we be of help?"

Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled in amusement. "I thought you'd never ask, Emmeline. I have decided that we need to keep a keen eye out for disturbing behavior. The recent attack on muggleborns back in April was a failure on Voldemort's part, but I believe he has been planning his next attack to be much more successful. I wish to prevent it, or at least, to alleviate it so there is as little destruction as possible. We need do our best to thwart his attempts. Catching him will be difficult, next to impossible, but we have to try. First, we need to be watching the Ministry workers. There have been reports of the Imperious Curse being used, considering the odd behaviors that have surfaced at the Ministry. Anyone working there, be sure to keep your eyes and ears open. Second, I wish to keep a steady watch on Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. They are two of the biggest stops for all witches and wizards in the area, also known as perfect spots to cause chaos. Third, I wish to interrupt his plans, whatever they may be. This would include monitoring Knockturn Alley, following known alliances he may have, and somehow eavesdropping on their conversations."

Alastor nodded. "I think we could all work out a schedule to pair up in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, but I doubt any of us could just go walking into Knockturn Alley safely."

There was silence for a moment until Sirius perked up. "Peter could do it."

James smiled, realizing what Sirius meant. "Yeah, he could, and he works right in Diagon Alley too."

Peter noticed all of the eyes of the room turn to him interestingly. "Umm, I…I mean, how—" James kicked him slightly, and he seemed to finally realize they were indicating his capabilities as an animagus. "Oh right, yeah. I can do that. Should I just follow suspicious persons?"

Alastor was looking him over carefully, clearly wondering why James and Sirius thought him to be the best to do the job. "Yes, for a start. If you can get close enough to listen in on conversations, that would be even better. There are a few taverns down there that could be useful places to visit. Borgin and Burkes is also a known stop."

Peter nodded. "James and Sirius could take turns too."

Sirius looked at him skeptically until James rolled his eyes. "We are masters of human transfiguration, are we not, Sirius?"

Sirius grinned sheepishly. Dumbledore nodded, somewhat reluctantly, not exactly liking the idea of James putting himself in an obvious degree of danger when he was one of the people Voldemort had expressed an interest in. "Perhaps we should start brewing some polyjuice potion as well so others could help? I'd hate to leave this upon you three. Lily, would you be so kind to start a few batches in the Potters' drawing room?"

Lily nodded. "Sure. It'll take a month to brew though."

Dumbledore turned his attention back to the room, getting the others to pair up and create a schedule of monitoring Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. They also discussed a few ways of keeping tabs on Ministry personnel, taking note to report anyone acting suspiciously to Dumbledore. They agreed to meet at a later point to discuss any new findings or information. Dumbledore said he would call a meeting when reports indicated it would be a good idea. Most of the witches and wizards departed with kind words around the room, but Dumbledore approached their group. "I hope you all will continue to be wary. With all of his young recruitments, I expect you all to be known enemies of their cause."

He had looked at James pointedly when he had said this. Nobody except Lily really noticed this, but James remained impassive. Dumbledore continued, "Oh, and don't discuss these things with Lauren, James. You either, Sirius. I would rather she enjoy her seventh year than to be worrying about all of this. I will keep her updated a bit, having her be a set of eyes and ears at Hogwarts, but anything more than that…"

Sirius shrugged, but James just nodded. "I understand."

He turned to Lily with a smile. "Congratulations about the Dept. of Mysteries, my dear. Quite an honor. I'm sure you will be like Sturgis, keeping things to yourself, but if there should ever be anything you like to share that may prove useful, I do not suppose we would be opposed to hearing about it."

Lily rolled her eyes playfully, smiling all the while. "Not you too! James was pestering me all evening, and then Christina here wanted to know everything!"

James chuckled, taking Lily's hand. "I was just teasing you, Lils. Besides, you _do_ have the most interesting job."

Lily shrugged innocently, and they all moved to leave, but Dumbledore called Remus back. "Remus, I would like to speak with you privately for a bit, if you don't mind?"

Remus nodded, saying goodbye to all of his friends before looking curiously up at his old Headmaster. "Yes, Professor?"

Dumbledore's brow furrowed. "I heard about your most unpleasant results from your job applications. I hope you are not letting this get to you too much. I feel it was because of the increased problems with your kind. They do not do much to make your kind's reputation better, that's for certain."

Remus' blue eyes darkened and there was a hint of amber in them, most likely due to his upcoming transformation tomorrow night. "No, they do not help my situation. James and Sirius have not let me be and have tried to offer other outlets; however, the types of jobs they, as in the magical community, willing let my kind participate in have no interest to me. They are often labor jobs."

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I know, but I have another suggestion? Perhaps you would be interested in teaching muggle students part-time? They know nothing about your condition, and you could schedule your work during times where you would be well. I think you would make an excellent teacher."

Remus actually gave him a small smile. "I hadn't thought about that. Maybe I could look into some of the nearby muggle schools. My parents have not been helpful, but rather have chosen to not care so much about my problems because I refuse to go to these testing facilities they have found in Australia."

Dumbledore tilted his head, as if to think that over. "Our parents try to see what's best for us, but sometimes, they overshoot their target. Do not hold it against them. I do have one other query to ask you, but I'm unsure if I want to ask you about it."

Remus was curious. "Ask away. If it's about my condition, I doubt it's something I haven't heard already from James or Sirius."

Dumbledore chuckled. "No, I suppose not. I was wondering if you knew of local werewolf congregations or what most of your kind typically tend to do. I'm afraid you are the only werewolf I have met with the exception of your unfortunate maker, the infamous Greyback."

Remus frowned, not wishing to think about Fenrir Greyback. "I know that some tend to flock toward Knockturn Alley, mostly the ferocious ones that actually like being a werewolf, like…Greyback. Others tend to lie low, avoiding magical areas because they have been shunned from the community. They are too scared to come back when most people know what they are so they try to assimilate back into muggle culture. Perhaps if there were a cure or a potion the magical community wouldn't be so unreceptive, but not everyone has someone like Lily in their lives, willing to try everything to make me have an easier time during the transformation."

Dumbledore nodded. "I have heard about her potion concoction for you. It has helped then?"

Remus smiled a bit. "Yes, but I ran out. Tomorrow will unfortunately be just like any other transformation."

Dumbledore frowned. "You're welcome to continue to use the Shrieking Shack. I believe you used it for June this past month as well?"

Remus nodded so Dumbledore continued, "I wonder…would you be willing to seek out the werewolves, in order to see where their loyalties lie? It could be dangerous though. You will be an outsider. You finished your magical education, and you have not been declared a werewolf by the community at large."

Remus looked away a bit and paused before saying with uncertainty, "If it'll help, I'll do it. It might take a while though, at least for finding others hidden in the muggle community. For others, the ones you would probably be more interested in, I may have to…prove myself before anyone would trust me."

Dumbledore shook his head, almost wishing he hadn't said anything. "I don't wish for you to compromise yourself and your values by having you place yourself in a dangerous situation where you would be forced to act as a wild werewolf just to get inside their group."

Remus sighed. "But that may be the only way, at least for the ones in Knockturn Alley. I would do my best to avoid it, but they will then ask questions. I will do my best with the outsiders. They may have already been contacted or recruited. If they have said no, they may be in danger. But if they have said yes, there will be some scared and not so loyal werewolves walking around in Knockturn Alley. That could also be a way in."

Dumbledore still looked unsure. "If you feel comfortable, proceed, although I think we should keep this quiet…and between us. Anything unusual or dangerous, come to me first thing. Don't do anything over your head. Be careful."

Remus gave him a smile. "Don't worry, Professor. I may have been a prefect, but I am a Marauder, right?"

Dumbledore smiled back. "Yes, you are."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29 – Lost Without You

"Are you sure you want to be doing this, Padfoot?"

Sirius rolled his eyes as he placed a few of his belongings on the shelf in the bedroom of his new flat in London. "Yes, Prongs, for the millionth time. I can't live at Potter Manor forever— not to mention, you probably wouldn't want me to. It's about time I get my own place. Besides, now you can feel free to ask Lily that question you've been itching to ask her for the last month."

James looked over at his best mate in surprise and then quickly looked out the bedroom door to where Christina and Lily were chatting and making a list of all the things men don't think to buy for a new place so he could be sure they hadn't heard Sirius. He turned back to him, clearly not amused, since he had found that the girls were still lost in their own conversation. He hissed back at him quietly, "How do _you_ know that I've been thinking of asking Lily anything?"

Sirius guffawed. "Please. If Lily's not staying at your place, then you are staying with her. It's been that way for a while now too. Plus, I just know these things."

James nodded wearily, but then a new thought occurred to him. "You're not moving out just because of that, are you?"

Sirius scoffed, loudly this time. "NO ALREADY!"

James looked out at the girls, who were now eyeing the both of them curiously. He just waved innocently back, causing them to roll their eyes at their immature boyfriends and go back to whatever they had been talking about. He then turned back to Sirius with a glare this time. "Fine, then. I get it. I know you want a place to call your own. I suppose I wouldn't want to deal with you and Christina all of the time, when things come to that anyway."

Sirius looked ill. "I'm quite happy to hear that because frankly, I'm sick of you and Lily. Talk about gross."

James laughed. "Right."

They were both quiet for a bit as James enlarged some of the things in one of the remaining boxes before handing the items to Sirius so he could place them wherever he wanted them. Sirius eventually broke the silence, saying softly, "So when are you planning on asking her?"

James furrowed his brow. "I don't know. I mean, isn't it too soon anyway?"

Sirius gave him a look. "You _do_ realize that almost all wizards and witches end up marrying someone within a few months out of Hogwarts? Frank, Alice, my cousins… I heard Diggory and Wittier got married quickly too. There have been more I'm sure, but I don't read that section of the Daily Prophet."

James still didn't look appeased so Sirius continued, "Well, why not then? Are you afraid she'll say no or something? Because you're being completely stupid if it's that. The girl is head over heels in love with you, although I'm still wondering how it ever happened in the first place. I can still remember the time you got slapped in the middle of the Great Hall in sixth year for asking her out for the 118th time because I dared you to see how many times you could ask her out in one day."

James smiled reluctantly at the memory, but he sighed as he tried to think about what he would say to Sirius. He had never lied to him, but there were some things that Sirius didn't know because he didn't know Occlumency. Sirius had no idea that Voldemort was particularly curious about James and the Potter family line. James still wasn't positive he wanted Lily to have to deal with all of that just to be with him like he wanted her to be. "It's not exactly that… I mean, what about all of this stuff going on with Voldemort? Who gets married in the middle of an on-going war? I guarantee we're all on his hit list, what with Bella, Malfoy, and whoever else in his camp." He paused before adding quietly, "He already came after my parents."

Sirius frowned at this. "So you think he'll go after Lily to get to you? I'm not going to say it isn't possible, Prongs, but at the same time, wouldn't you rather be happy together? Besides, I don't think anything would happen to her without something happening to you first, you and that bloody nobility of yours. And then look at Frank and Alice. They are also doing stuff with the Order, and they got married."

James tilted his head as he thought over what Sirius had said. He supposed that was true. "Maybe I will then. I don't know. What about you and Christina? You two seem quite happy together."

Sirius smiled. "Things are good. We were going to—"

He broke off when he noticed Lily heading over towards them. She smiled at them both when they looked her way. She paused near the bedroom door. "Hey, Christina says she's starving. Any chance you boys would like to take us out to lunch, considering Sirius has no food yet?"

Sirius gave her a salute. "Food for Chrissy. Got it."

Lily giggled as she watched Sirius run past her, and she shared a look with James when they both heard Christina yelp from somewhere in the kitchen. James stepped up behind his pretty girlfriend and left a few kisses on the back of her neck because her hair was pulled up in a ponytail for a change. She shivered a bit before turning to look at him. He kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear, "So lunch?"

Lily nodded, trying to keep herself calm. She had no idea how James could have such an effect on her, but she liked it. A lot. She ran her hands down his strong chest for a moment, a bit lost in his hazel eyes. They were interrupted, as usual, by Sirius, "Oi, lovebirds, Chrissy needs sustenance! We must leave!"

James chuckled to himself as he grabbed Lily's hand to lead her outside so they could apparate somewhere to eat. Perhaps it would be a good thing for Sirius to move out. Maybe there wouldn't be as many interruptions.

James looked at his watch for the millionth time as he waited for Lauren to get whatever else she needed for seventh year. He had already told her she could use some of his books and whatnot, considering he had often underlined all of the important things already, but she still had had to go and get some other supplies. He wanted her to hurry up and get home so he could go do a bit of things on his own. He would never leave her by herself, especially right now because of everything going on, even if she was an incredibly talented witch. His thoughts were broken when he heard her sarcastic voice remark, "You know, I should move even slower if you're going to act like that."

He looked at her amusedly. "Thanks, but no thanks, Lauren. You know that I could've gotten all of your stuff for you without you, but you insisted on coming. Haven't I told you that it's dangerous to be out right now?"

Lauren gave him a look. "I know of the danger, Jimmy. Besides, I'm not the only one shopping for Hogwarts. There are tons of students about. Come on, I just need to go and get a new set of robes, and then I'll be done."

He nodded and signed off on the things she needed from the store they were in before heading with her to Madam Malkin's. He waited while she got fitted for a new set of robes as he absentmindedly looked at his watch again. He pushed the 6 button, curious about what Lily was doing. The Lily hand was placed firmly at the number 2 spot, which used to read 'school' but now read 'order work.' His brow furrowed for a moment as he wondered what she could be doing, but then he remembered that she had said she would be working on potions for most of the morning. She was probably continuing her polyjuice potions or working on Remus' potion. Remus had given her a few suggestions based on his experience with her current concoction, which had made her curious, so she had told him that she had an idea for something new, but it would take even longer to brew and probably wouldn't taste as good. James had no idea what she had been talking about and was as lost as Remus was as to her new ideas. He pressed the 6 button one more time to replace his watch's normal face and was happy when Lauren walked out a few minutes later with her new set of robes all boxed up. "Ok, Jimmy, I'm all done now."

James sighed. "Good. Send all of your things home, and then apparate there yourself. Tell Lily I still have a few things to do. She should be in the potions drawing room."

Lauren waved her wand at her things before giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for letting me come out today even though you didn't want me to. I really don't like being stuck in the house, you know."

James ruffled her hair. "You're welcome, sis."

Lauren gave him a wink before apparating away. He sighed and looked around Diagon Alley with sad eyes. He had already been through both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade looking for the perfect ring for Lily, but he had had no such luck. It wasn't his fault he was picky. He was thinking about apparating to London to look around in the muggle shops when his gaze came to rest on Gringotts. It had been a very long time ago, but the memory suddenly came back to him like it was yesterday. His father had taken him when he had been about six to a side chamber in Gringotts which led down to the goblin village, located directly below Diagon Alley. He had been sworn to secrecy of its existence because wizards and witches were typically not welcome. There were few wizarding families that were, but the Potter family had always been one of them.

He causally made his way toward Gringotts as he struggled to remember the side chamber's location. He could just apparate back to Potter Manor and ask his father's portrait, but showing back up at home would likely cause questions from both Lauren and Lily that he wouldn't want to answer. He somehow knew it to be on the left side, but there were no visible doors to be found. However, there was a rather large overgrowth of trees, bushes, and vines. He stepped into the shadows and disillusioned himself before making his way closer to the wall, pushing his way through the growth to try and look for any identifying features along the wall His hands didn't seem to pick up any magical traces. He was beginning to give up hope when he came to a single rose bush, which had grown up the Gringotts castle wall very slightly. He stared at it, remembering it to be significant, but he had no idea why. He gently plucked a rose from the bush and then heard a quiet voice whisper into the wind, "Password?"

James was startled. Password? What the hell was the password? He had no idea. He had been six at the time. Plus, he was sure it had been changed since then, considering it had been twelve years. He spoke hesitantly, "I'm unfamiliar with the password, but I am a friend of the goblins and have been here once before a long time ago. I am the remaining heir to the House of Potter and Peverell."

There was no sound for a few moments. "Prove who you say you are."

James' brow furrowed. There was enough tree cover so people out in Diagon Alley wouldn't be able to see him. He undid the disillusionment and then cast a spell on the ground leaving a burned shape of the Potter crest. There was another few moments of silence until there was a faint glow on the wall in front of him in the shape of an archway. "You may pass through, Master Potter."

James was a bit hesitant, but after messing up the Potter crest on the ground, he stepped through the archway. His eyes came to rest on an old goblin clearly interested in his presence. "Master Potter, we have not seen your family here in a long while. What brings you here today?"

James smiled slightly. "I was wondering if I could visit your shops? It would be most appreciated."

The old goblin nodded. "Feel free, Master Potter. You and your family are always welcome here. For future reference, the password was and should continue to be 'Godric Gryffindor.'"

James' eyes widened a bit. No wonder his family would always be welcome here. He made his way through the village of goblins and was the only wizard around. He was happy he had thought to bring his black cloak and could keep his identity to himself, although he was positive most of the goblins knew of which wizards or witches that were allowed in their village. He stopped briefly at each of the shops, taking note that only female goblins ran the stores, mostly because all of their male counterparts were upstairs running the bank. He finally found an out of the way jewelry store and made his way inside. He was quite happy that they had made all of their shops accessible for wizards despite being about two feet shorter than most wizards themselves. The female goblin shopkeeper looked at him curiously, although with a smile. "What can I do for you, Master Potter?"

He smiled sheepishly at her knowing who he was. Apparently, gossip of a wizard in the goblin village traveled fast. "Well, I was sort of looking for…"

The female goblin paid him no mind and immediately brought out a tray of goblin-made rings. "You must be here for a lucky lady. The few wizards allowed in our village often come here to find their engagement rings. Do you know what makes them special?"

James was curious. "No, what makes them special?"

The female goblin chuckled. "Goblin-made products are often infused with magic a wizard could almost never make. That is what makes goblin-made products indestructible, such as that of Gryffindor's legendary sword. However, with jewelry, particularly engagement rings, not only is there magic of that sort, but there is also magic of love. Love is something not understood by wizardkind or even muggles, although your Ministry continues to try and solve its underlying power. Goblins, though, have found a way to manipulate the properties of love in such a way that whenever a goblin-made engagement ring comes into contact with the witch it was designated for, it will seal itself with that witch if she is true. If not, then the ring will refuse the witch."

James looked at her in surprise. "Wow. That's amazing, although I have no doubts about the witch in question."

The female goblin nodded with a smile. "I can tell by your eyes. Eyes like yours can only occur when love is equally reciprocated." She then gestured to her many rings. "I have all of the jewelry from the village in this store. I guarantee you will find what you are looking for here."

James looked down at each of the many rings she had laid out for him to look at. They were beautiful, far more beautiful than he would have found anywhere else, and each ring was made unique. Goblins had always been the best at manipulating metal and gemstones. His eyes gazed over the many variations, but they soon came to rest on one. It was exquisite. There was a square cut diamond in the center, but there was also two emerald stones, also cut like a square, with one sitting on each side of the large center diamond. The emeralds were shifted so they looked more diamond-shaped in contrast with the center square. It was like having Lily's emerald eyes looking back at him. The goblin-made metal was darker in color than most gold or platinum rings, but to James, it just made the color of the gemstones jump out at him even more. The metal wrapped around the stones in an intricate pattern, like a vine of some kind. He was sure Lily would love it. He pointed to it. "That one."

The female goblin chuckled as she picked it up and placed it in a beautiful black and gold box for him. "You know, I think that ring must've been made just for you. It was just finished yesterday."

James gave her a pretty smile and thanked her profusely for her help. He made sure to give her his vault number, but she just waved her tiny hand at him. "We all know your vault number, Master Potter. Now, you go and make your witch very happy. I hope to meet her one day."

James was ecstatic as he made his way back through the village, nodding to a couple of goblins who gave him warm smiles. He met the old goblin at the side chamber gate once more. "Thanks for letting me in."

The old goblin nodded back to him. "Anytime, Master Potter."

James made his way through the archway, pocketing his purchase snugly within his cloak. He disillusioned himself as he made his way back towards Diagon Alley. He stopped briefly, noting that it was late afternoon, early evening. He looked over at Knockturn Alley, realizing that this would be the perfect time to try out his plan. He flicked his wand over himself a few times, altering his appearance considerably. He changed his hair so it was a bit longer and shaggier, changed the color to a dark red-brown, altered his glasses so they looked more sophisticated, changed his eye color to dark brown, altered his facial structure, and made his body type a bit less athletic and wirier. He also made sure to transfigure his watch because it would be a dead giveaway. He made sure there were no other identifying features before placing his hood on his head and undoing the disillusionment. He briefly felt the effects of his magic, ensuring he had been changed properly before making his way towards Knockturn Alley.

He had never been down there personally, but Peter had given him a rough lay-out after sneaking around in his animagus form for the last few days after work. He had mentioned that he hadn't gotten any real information, but had taken notice that certain supposed Death Eaters frequented a pub called Death's Day deep within the dismal area. James kept his head down and made his way through the tightly-confined streets, a little unsettled by the darkness shadowing over the streets from the buildings being built so close together. He sneered at a few hags who attempted to engage him in conversation or tried to sell him things. At the sight of his sneer, they backed away instantly. James grew less worried by this, happy that growing up around snooty pure-bloods was going to come in useful. He eventually found the pub and was dismayed when he saw that there were some vampires hanging around outside underneath hoods and in the shadows as they waited for nightfall. This could get ugly if things went poorly. Maybe he should've shared his plan with at least one other person. He supposed he would mention it to Sirius or Lily later tonight so at least one person was aware of what he was doing.

He made his way inside, ignoring the undead patrons standing around outside. They merely looked at him and left him alone. The pub was equally dismal on the inside. He made his way to the bar, and while making an effort to speak with a thick French accent said, "A firewhiskey. Make it a double."

The barkeep gave him a curt nod before pouring his order. He glanced around the pub inconspicuously. He found himself a bit unnerved by the fact that Lucius Malfoy was there with two men James had never met, most likely some of the older followers that Dumbledore had mentioned. He took his drink order after throwing out a few sickles and grabbed a paper off of the edge of the bar before making his way toward an empty table. He could practically feel Lucius' cold grey eyes on him. Apparently, outsiders were not welcome here with open arms. Good to know. Lucius made his way over before asking authoritatively, "Who are you?"

James glanced up casually, his eyes hard with a look of disdain. He made sure his French accent was the first thing he would notice, "What's it to you?"

Lucius' eyes narrowed. "You're French. We don't get many foreigners around here. You must be pure-blood too."

James looked bored. "Does all of this have a point, or can I continue with my drink in peace?"

The two older men behind Lucius snickered. Lucius looked infuriated at being bested. He held out his hand. "Lucius Malfoy. You'd best know my name around here."

James looked him up and down, not taking his hand, his dark brown eyes still cold. "Jean-Pierre Lametz. I suppose you can call me Pierre."

Lucius' eyes widened at the name. It was an important last name in France, related distantly to the Grimaldi family, who were royalty in Monaco. James chose it for a few reasons. There was the fact that it implied royalty, pure-blood ties, money, and sophistication, but also because, just maybe, Voldemort had been able to trace back the Potter family line on his own a bit. The Potter family was related distantly to the Grimaldi family as well, but much further back to when an actual 'Grimaldo' female married a Potter. This was why the Potter family continued to have property in France and in Monaco. He had found all of this out when he had been mulling around in the Potter study during some of his free time. Lucius' friend piped up, "Royalty?"

James turned his cold gaze to his friend. "Distantly."

The same friend nodded to Lucius before turning back to James. "Well, Pierre, would you care to join us? Have you heard of the Dark Lord?"

James frowned. "I have heard of one called by that name. I hear he is doing noble work, purifying wizardkind of the filth."

Lucius' other friend raised his glass with a sneer. "Hear hear. I'm Theodore Nott, by the way, and this is Evan Rosier."

James got up and made his way over to their table, taking a seat in a relaxed fashion before turning his nose up snootily. "I trust you all are of the same mind, then?"

Lucius smirked. "That we are. It is nice to find someone knew who thinks similarly. Most persons who come around here are of that mind."

James looked on with a sneer. "That is why _I_ do not waste my time in places where the company is mixed."

Evan looked him over. "So tell us, what brings you to England?"

James looked over his white blonde hair and dark eyes. This was clearly a relative of Sirius' aunt, Druella Black, formerly Rosier. This unnerved him. He had heard stories about the Rosier family as a boy. They were not a family that played with their victims. They killed persons outright with no thought. James fought to remain calm and collected as he forced himself to speak about things he would never utter in a thousand years. "France has become a collection of half-blood and mudblood twits. I thought England would be more suitable, but I was sadly mistaken. This is the first place I have found that is not crawling with the filth. I am amazed to see that this change is taking place within the magical community here as well. Perhaps your Dark Lord has it right."

Theodore Nott smirked. "We agree. Perhaps you could join us in our endeavors?"

James frowned. "I'm afraid I like to look out for myself first, a trait I hear you Brits call a Slytherin quality. I do not think I would be all that useful to you."

Lucius nodded. "That is true, for the most part. If you change your mind, you know who to talk to."

James slammed the rest of his firewhiskey along with his new 'friends.' He gave them a smirk. "I shall consider your offer, but do not expect my answer to change. I suppose if there were small things I could do to help you on your way, I would not be opposed. Your mission is one I support."

Evan nodded his way. "Pleasure meeting you, Pierre."

Lucius and Theodore echoed his sentiments before they made their way outside and apparated away. James held back purposefully, looking back over himself. He was positive he just got tracked and would be watched as he left. James ordered another firewhiskey and summoned the paper he had been reading from the other table. He pretended to read about Knockturn Alley news, which included rallying of vampires and werewolves. He was gladly going to bring this to Dumbledore. He would have to get rid of his tracking charm or charms before he left first and would have to do it carefully in case he was being watched. He placed his wand in his left hand as he turned through the newspaper. He used his right hand to concentrate on anything inherently magical. He eventually discovered a magical trace on his left shoe, his cloak, and his ear. Clever, but not too clever. He wandlessly got rid of them and double checked himself. He was sure he would be safe to apparate away, but he still would go somewhere else before he went home first, just in case. He nodded curtly to the barkeep before exiting the pub.

He quickly apparated to Hogsmeade and then walked purposefully over to the side of Honeydukes so he could be alone. He checked himself more thoroughly and still found nothing else wrong with him. He then cancelled his transfigurations before apparating home. As soon as he landed in the living room, he was surrounded by worried persons, all clamoring him with questions. Lily, Lauren, Remus, Christina, and Sirius were all looking at him expectantly for a rather detailed explanation for why he had been gone for about six hours. He looked them all over, particularly Lily, who was looking rather upset. "What?"

He knew that anything he said at this point was probably going to be wrong, but that must've been high on the wrong list. Lily's pretty green eyes flashed. "JAMES! How _dare_ you just disappear for hours on end! Sirius went to meet you when Lauren said you had things to do by yourself. You should not be traipsing around by yourself! And then, he comes back to tell us you had DISAPPEARED! Do you have _any_ idea how worried we were?"

Everyone else seemed content to just let Lily rant at James, even though they had felt the same worry. They all kind of backed up when Lily began her tirade. James' face was clearly surprised and slightly pained, hearing the girl he loved yelling at him for the first time in a long time. He gently reached out and touched her shoulders, causing her fury to deflate a bit. "Lily, I'm sorry. Really. I didn't know Lauren would tell anyone to come meet me. I left the area not long after she apparated away." He turned to the others as well. "I'm sorry."

Lily looked at him, her face softened. "Then, where did you go?"

James made eye contact with Sirius who seemed to understand one of the things he had been doing so Sirius interrupted, "Well, it must've been important. I know you said you had somewhere to go. I figured it had something to do with the Order so I was going to go help you."

James sighed, taking his message to mean that he had probably wanted to help him with the engagement ring search because Sirius knew that he had been having problems. However, he ran with Sirius' metaphor, which happened to be true. "I had an idea about Knockturn Alley, and I went and did it. I found out nothing really useful, yet anyway, but I can confirm Evan Rosier, Theodore Nott, and Lucius Malfoy are all working with Voldemort. I also brought this back."

They all looked at the Knockturn Alley newspaper, which was covered in stories supporting Voldemort's cause and the stuff about recruiting vampires and werewolves. While everyone was looking over the stories in the newspaper, Lily turned back to James and hit him in the chest. "Don't you make me worry like this ever again."

He gently grabbed her hands and leaned down to meet her eyes, which still seemed a bit worried. "I will do my best not to make you worry. I really am sorry."

Lily smiled slightly. "Good. You should take that to Dumbledore. He would want to see it. What did you do to find out this information anyway?"

His brow furrowed, showing his unease over what he had just done. "I transfigured myself. I became a friend to their cause. They appeared to like me, but I was tracked. I got rid of everything before I left for Hogsmeade. I did another more thorough check there before coming here."

Lily frowned, her green eyes still looking worried. "They didn't recognize you? Are you sure?"

James nodded. "No, they had no idea it was me. I've been around enough pompous pure-bloods my whole life, I knew how to act like one. I pretended to be French as well."

Lily still looked skeptical. "If you say so. Just…be careful. And next time, tell someone where you will be!"

James leaned over and kissed her softly. "Ok, I promise."

Sirius looked over at his best mate, who was lounging moodily in his living room. They had gotten out of training early that day so they had just gone over to his place to wait for the girls to get off work. However, after a few games of Exploding Snap, he had noticed that James definitely had things on his mind. Along with their Auror training, the two of them had been sneaking off occasionally to Knockturn Alley, only this time together. James would pretend to be Pierre while Sirius came in separately as his own persona, some guy named Ray O'Conner. While Pierre was at least well liked by some of the Death Eaters that frequented the area, Ray was not and was left alone. The two of them liked this better though because Sirius could watch out for them playing tricks with James— not to mention that if Sirius had become a friend to them, his lack of knowledge regarding Occlumency would be detrimental. Sirius could've used the invisibility cloak like they had originally wanted to do, but because of the prominent presence of vampires and werewolves around the area, his presence would have been found instantly regardless so it was better for him to just be there as someone else.

But right now, Sirius was sure that the only thing troubling James was a certain redheaded witch with one hell of a temper. He had no idea why his best mate was terrified of someone so tiny. He supposed he was frightened of her too, although he wouldn't admit that to anyone. "So how long has it been?"

James just sighed, looking defeated. "Two weeks, four days, and almost one hour."

Sirius couldn't help the smile that started to grace his face. James gave him a look, but this only made his grin spread faster. It wasn't long before Sirius was laughing his ass off at his best mate's expense. James was not amused. Sirius eventually sobered up and just asked him, "Why in the world haven't you asked her yet?"

James looked frustrated. "It just hasn't been right."

Sirius snickered quietly to himself. James had told him that he had gotten the ring the night he had gotten it; however, he could not for the life of him buck up the courage to ask her. It was rather funny. "You do realize she's like 5'4" and only about 115 pounds at most, right? Without her wand, what could she really do to you if you ask her? In fact, I bet she will be incredibly happy about it and will snog you senseless so what exactly are you afraid of?"

James growled at him. "I am NOT afraid of asking her."

Sirius just laughed. "YES, you are."

"Not."

"Are."

"Not."

"Are."

"NOT!"

Sirius smirked. "Sure, you aren't, James. Then, why haven't you asked her?"

James sighed. He hated it when Sirius was infuriatingly curious and relentless. It really annoyed him. "I don't know, ok? I've taken her out, things have been perfect, but then, I just freeze or…something."

Sirius grinned like a maniac. "Yeah, because you're scared."

James jumped up from the couch, pushing him slightly. "I AM NOT!"

That was how both girls found them after they apparated into Sirius' flat together. Lily looked curiously back and forth between her fuming boyfriend and his best mate, who was laughing hysterically on the floor. "Ummm, what's going on with you two?"

James froze. He glanced over at his beautiful girlfriend before shooting a glare at the still chuckling Sirius. "Nothing, Lils. Sirius just knows how to push my buttons."

Christina snickered. "Sirius, leave the poor boy alone."

Those words caused James to frown back at Sirius, considering they sort of implied that Christina might know what was going on. Sirius sobered up and shook his head slightly for James' benefit, causing James to relax some. Sirius turned to his girlfriend with a wink. "But he makes it so easy, Chrissy."

James scowled. "Just wait, Padfoot. I can't wait until _you_ are standing where _I'm_ standing."

The girls just looked at each other curiously when Sirius turned stoic at the thought of whatever James was talking about. They were being uncharacteristically…vague. Lily just pulled at her boyfriend to get him to leave with her, pouting playfully. "Come on, James. I want to take a shower before we go out for the evening. I exploded three potions today."

James smiled at Lily. "I find that hard to believe."

Lily rolled her eyes playfully, but Christina laughed gleefully. "You should have _seen_ her, James! She came to meet me and Shelley for lunch, but she was covered in something purple and sticky that we had to go wash off. She refuses to say what kind of potion she is working with though."

James snickered and gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek, meeting her pretty green eyes. "Then, we best not ask her about it. Hi, beautiful."

Lily's thoughts about anything else disappeared when she suddenly had James right in front of her. Why did his smile make her forget about everything? "Hi, yourself."

Sirius groaned, covering his eyes. "Stop the madness! Please! I moved out to get away from it all!"

Christina giggled and pushed at James and Lily. "Get out of here! I have to make Sirius forget what we just saw."

James and Lily started laughing at that. James pulled Lily close to him and apparated them both to Potter Manor. As soon as they landed, James leaned down and captured Lily's lips in a much more involved greeting. He eventually pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers. "How was work really?"

Lily sighed. "Fine. I really did explode three potions, but it was worth it though. Good stuff, if I can get it right."

James chuckled, leading her upstairs. "If anyone can work it out, I'm sure you can, Lily love."

Lily shrugged. "So, what about you? You got out early?"

He nodded. "Moody let us out for some reason. I think he had to go somewhere important. He said we'll all make up for it next week though. Sirius and I were going to do some work this weekend so we're not totally unprepared on Monday."

She laughed. "I'm sure he will. He is definitely a no nonsense kind of guy."

He eventually opened his bedroom door for her, telling her to go ahead and take a shower since he already had. He would have joined her if he wasn't such a jumble of nerves. While she was in his bathroom, he quickly changed into a nice pair of jeans and a dark blue button down shirt, finishing with placing a certain gold and black box in his pocket. Hopefully, tonight he would finally ask her the question— at least, that was the plan.

For being a girl, Lily didn't take all that long to get ready. He was lying on his bed looking over some of his Auror texts when she finally did come out of the bathroom some thirty minutes later. She was still fumbling with her clothes, frowning slightly, but James just kind of stared at her. She looked amazing. She was wearing a jean skirt with one of her short-sleeved white blouses with these heeled sandals gracing her tiny feet. Her hair was all pulled up, braided, twisted, and pinned slightly, leaving certain tresses hanging about. Her make-up was light, but he could see a hint of gloss on her extremely kissable lips. Her bright green eyes eventually turned to meet his, and a smile graced her lips. "Are you staring at me, Potter?"

James just nodded weakly. She was killing him here. He made his way over to her, itching to just touch her. As he wrapped his arms around her, he kissed her neck softly and ran his hands over her back before whispering near her ear, "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"

Lily's heart was pounding. He was being incredibly sexy right now. "You tell me enough, I suppose."

James just chuckled. "It's still true. I love you."

Lily smiled at him. "I love you too."

James was about to ask her, but his mind failed to form the words. Instead, his mind was littered with curse words, telling him that he was, more or less, an idiot. A tense smile broke out on his face. "Let's head out."

Lily looked at him peculiarly, but took his offered arm. The whole night was filled with similar moments. They had gone out to a nice restaurant, and there were a total of six times where James had started to go for it, but then stopped himself. He was getting increasingly agitated over it. Lily only really started to notice that something was off towards the end of the meal. He had stepped around her questions because he couldn't exactly say he was fine when he wasn't, considering he couldn't lie to the girl. While he liked the fact that he was unable to lie to her due to the Dumbledore family charm, it also was a right pain in the ass sometimes. However, growing up with the 'no lying to an elder' philosophy, he had become a pro at giving not completely truthful answers by being vague or really listening to particular questions or evading questions skillfully. Dumbledore often teased him, saying he had a habit of 'stretching the truth' or looking at things too literally. This was most certainly true.

James had found a nightclub in muggle London, through extensive research with Remus and Sirius, which was similar to the one they had gone to in Miami. Lily perked up at the idea of him willingly taking her dancing. They had gotten there with no trouble, and dancing had made things so much easier because they really didn't have to talk, nor could they really do so with all of the loud music. The live band that had been playing that night was pretty good, but James was still anxious. He had been so distracted that he almost failed to glare at a few guys who had made eyes at his girlfriend. Almost.

However, after dancing and laughing with Lily for a couple of hours, he finally began to relax a bit. This was one of the things he loved most about Lily. She was really the only one that could pull him out of his moods whenever he had them. Sirius and Lauren often tried to use humor, but this really just tended to make him angrier. Before he had Lily, he used to go out to be by himself for a while to let his mood wear off. Now, he just liked to spend time with her, and it always made him feel better.

It was a little after one in the morning when the two of them had made their way outside. They decided to just walk for a while before they apparated home. The streets of London were not nearly as busy; there was only the occasional group of people hanging around. The sky was dark, but the street lamps left faint glows of light on the sidewalks below. Lily was holding onto James' arm as the two of them walked in relative silence together. Her brow furrowed as she thought about their evening. She had had a wonderful time. She loved spending time with James. At the same time though, she knew something was bothering him. He seemed quietly frustrated— not with her, but with himself. She knew that to push him about it would only make him more upset so she had let it be, but she was still a bit wary and curious. He had been doing a lot of stuff down in Knockturn Alley with Sirius, but she had thought he had been telling her about most of that. It had to be something else. "Are you sure you're alright, James?"

James gave her a small smile. "I'm with you, Lily love."

Lily looked at him skeptically. He wasn't exactly answering the question. He had done that a lot during the night. She broke eye contact, still hugging his arm. So much for trying not to push him. Apparently, she would have to be a bit more direct. "You're not ok. I know it, so what is it?"

James didn't say anything for a few moments and gulped quietly to himself. Now was the time. She wasn't going to let him dance around the issue anymore. "I love you, you know."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know."

He stopped walking with her and turned her to face him. "No, I'm not sure you do. I want to be with you every day. I want to make you smile or laugh. I want to wake up and see you every morning. I would do anything in my power to make sure you would never be hurt or upset. You are the only person I would ever want to be with. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy."

Lily's pretty green eyes were wide as she looked at him. James took a deep breath before kneeling down on one knee in front of her and pulling out the beautiful ring he had found for her. He continued softly, "Will you marry me, Lily?"

When his eyes met hers once more, it was clear that she hadn't stopped looking at him at all, and she had barely registered what he was doing. She also didn't seem to have glanced at the ring either. Her eyes were a bit teary, and she had brought her hands up to her mouth. As the seconds ticked by, James became a bit more nervous, thinking she was going to turn him down. He broke eye contact and continued to babble on, something he tended to do when he was nervous, "I mean, we don't have to do anything right away if you don't want to. I just want you to know that I love—"

He was immediately cut off by Lily throwing her arms around his neck as she sat down on the one knee that was available and her lips found his. When she broke the kiss, she was still holding onto him and smiling, looking blissfully happy even though her eyes were a tad glassy. "Yes, James, I will."

James still hadn't really heard her. "Yes?"

She nodded, giggling elatedly. That's when James kissed her again, lifting her up a bit and twirling her around. When he finally placed her in front of him, he was sure he had never felt happier in his life. "I love you so much."

Lily's smile was huge. "Not nearly as much as I love you."

He chuckled, but then realized he was still holding her ring. He held it out for her. "This is for you."

Lily finally glanced down at the ring, and her eyes lit up prettily. "Oh my God. This is beautiful, James. Where in the world did you find this?"

James smiled and kissed her forehead, reaching out to pull the ring from the box. "A secret place. I'll show you one day."

He gently slid the ring on her finger, and they both watched as the ring magically sized itself to fit Lily's finger, glowing faintly. Lily's face was full of wonder and happiness as she looked down at the ring, wiggling her fingers a bit. "Wow."

James nuzzled her neck, still smiling. "I agree. You have _no_ idea how much better I feel."

Lily looked up at him mischievously. If she really thought about it, he had been acting a bit nervous around her for a while. "How long have you had this?"

He gave her a look, which didn't really work because he was so happy. He ran a hand through his hair, eventually sighing. He took her hand and pulled her along to continue their peaceful walk under the lights of nighttime London before finally answering her question, "Two weeks, four days, and nine hours."

Lily giggled, despite her attempt not to. It was a bit dark, but she could tell that he was blushing a bit up from his neck. It was incredibly sweet that he had been so nervous about the whole thing. If anything, it just made her fall in love with him all over again. She reached up and kissed his cheek, her lips stopping near his ear. She whispered softly, "I would've said yes no matter what. I would be crazy not to."

That made him smile.

The next morning, after a rather satisfying lie-in, the two of them began to make their rounds to let everyone know. Lauren, being the only other living person at Potter Manor, was the first to find out. She had shrieked loudly before throwing her arms around Lily and then James, telling them that she had been waiting for this moment to happen. Her immensely excited antics drew curiosity from the many portraits in the house so James and Lily broke the news to his parents next. They were equally excited and went to spread the news to the other portraits.

Lily and James then thought they should head over to her parents' house to break the news so they apparated over there. Her mother had smothered them both in hugs, obviously ecstatic with the idea of helping to plan another wedding. Her father had been equally happy for the two of them, shaking James' hand and welcoming him to the family. Her parents had insisted that they stay for dinner so they could hear all about the two of them, the proposal, and how their jobs were going. It was going perfectly fine until Petunia and Vernon had stopped by for a visit. It was more than a little awkward this time around because of the fact that Vernon was well aware about magic now. Petunia had been more than a little put off about their engagement, considering Mr. and Mrs. Evans were quite happy about it. Vernon had remained a bit red in the face for a while, watching both James and Lily's hands as if they were going to do some sort of spell on him. Lily was sure that if she had given the signal, James would have had the time of his life scaring the daylights out of him.

Sirius and Christina had been next. As soon as they were able to get away from the Lily's parents, they had apparated over to Sirius' new flat. James and Lily found themselves laughing hysterically at finding their friends snogging rather passionately on his couch. The snogging part hadn't really been that funny— actually, that part had made them both groan— but what had been funny had been their horrendously red faces afterwards. Needless to say, they were both thrilled with the news. Sirius had given James a knowing smirk only to be silenced before he could say whatever he had been about to say. This had infuriated him, but James refused to release the spell until Sirius stopped smirking. This actually took a full 39 minutes.

By this time, the day had already gotten late so the two of them, rather than continuing their telling spree, apparated back to Potter Manor. Over the next couple of days, more and more people were informed, causing the two of them to get ragged on for being the couple no one would have thought would ever happen. This had just made them both smile. Remus had been equally ecstatic over the whole thing, but James had been forced to silence him as well. Lily had been surprised that Remus even had a devilish smirk, let alone how he was able to rag on James like he did before James was successful with silencing him. James had been bright red while Lily had been left in a state of giggles at hearing some of the stuff Remus was able to spout off. Apparently, James had been just as sweet as she found him to be now back when she had thought he was a prat. She sometimes wished that she had seen that part of him before, but then again, the hindsight kind of made her love for him all the more.

Peter, although not surprised by this announcement either, didn't even try to rag on James about it, merely congratulating him and Lily. He seemed a bit down in the dumps, but had played it off as a work thing. Shelley had been equally excited about everything, but then she had pouted playfully and pretended to be angry with James for stealing away her brand new roommate. Dumbledore had just smiled knowingly when he had gotten wind of the whole thing. All he had really had to say on the matter was the fact that he would have to tell Professor McGonagall that she owed him a galleon. This had made them both laugh, considering Dumbledore had obviously bet on James finally winning Lily's heart.

Lily couldn't remember feeling as happy as she was over these last few days. Even going back to work after their blissful weekend could do nothing to dampen her mood. It was now late Thursday evening, and both she and James were lying out on a conjured blanket near the fountain in James' front yard. They were both lying on their back next to one another, with James running his fingers softly over Lily's hand which rested on his stomach. It was getting late, but the both of them were too comfortable to really do anything about it. They had been out there since deciding to take their desserts outside, which had been hours before. They had talked about everything from ideas for the wedding to work to friends to Lauren leaving for Hogwarts this weekend to the Order to constellations, but were now in a comfortable silence. Lily turned so she could lie on his chest like she liked to. "We should go inside, James. We both have to work in the morning."

James ran a hand over her back for a few minutes before eventually saying, "I suppose."

He sat up suddenly, as did Lily because he hadn't really let go of her. He gently pulled her up to her feet, kissing her forehead. He waved his wand at the blanket, and it disappeared. Lily kept her arms around him as they walked back to his front door. The night air was a bit cooler, but he kept her warm. She was just about to point out the fact that she liked that about him when a bright light flashed in front of them. They both stopped walking instantly upon seeing the phoenix patronus. Dumbledore's voice was rather grave when it rang out, "James, Lily, please floo to my office immediately."

The two of them looked at each other briefly, their faces a bit paler. They took off towards his house at a much faster pace. Something was definitely not right.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30 – Devastation

Lily was incredibly worried as she and James raced their way quickly toward the living room so they could use his fireplace to floo directly to Dumbledore's office. James' face was also creased in concern. They both had reason to be this way, considering it had been Sirius and Christina's night to stake out Hogsmeade. Diagon Alley was supposedly left to Fabian and Gideon Prewett tonight.

Christina had borrowed James' invisibility cloak so she could wander around freely while Sirius was using human transfiguration, hanging out at the Three Broomsticks and making his way through the town. He had planned on going to the Hogs Head, a more likely hang-out, but Dumbledore had claimed this spot to be taken care of. He had had a particular twinkle in his eye when he had mentioned this, which Lily had been confused about, but James later told her that Aberforth, Dumbledore's brother, owned and ran the unsavory pub. Anyway, if anything had happened to either Sirius or Christina, they were both going to be upset. Very upset.

James pointed his wand at the fireplace, igniting the green flames silently, while Lily grabbed some floo powder off the mantle. He pulled her towards him, and she immediately dropped the floo powder while calling out, "Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts."

The two of them eventually fell out of the fireplace, a bit less gracefully than usual, but James managed to keep them both upright. They both turned their attention toward Dumbledore's desk, which had a rather disheartened old wizard sitting behind it. He definitely did not seem to want to deliver whatever news he was about to deliver. James took a deep breath, bracing himself for whatever he was about to hear, and asked, "What happened?"

Lily nodded at the question, feeling equally apprehensive about the upcoming news. Dumbledore's normally bright blue eyes were sad and even hesitant. He looked them both over before saying softly, "I'm terribly sorry to say what I'm about to tell you… There was an unplanned attack. It seemed rather last minute and was more to make a point than anything else, although I am rather disturbed by their actions tonight. It was more than a bit unexpected."

Lily didn't like what she was hearing, particularly because his glances seemed to be a bit more in her direction. "Who was it? Not in Diagon Alley…"

Dumbledore's brow furrowed. "No, both Sirius and Christina should be fine, although they will be sad to hear this. I just found out a few minutes before. I'm terribly sorry, Lily." He paused briefly before finally admitting, "It was your parents."

Lily heard James' breath hitch and felt him tense next to her, but she just shook her head slowly, not really comprehending what she was hearing. "No, not them… No, please…"

Dumbledore's grimace told her all she needed to know. James' arms had gone around her from behind, and she could feel tears start to fall from her eyes as she tried to listen further to what Dumbledore was saying, but she really only absorbed bits and pieces. "..lots of magic in a muggle area…Aurors arrived on the scene…Death Eaters disapparated…Alastor sent a patronus…must've just happened…her sister will be notified soon…terrible and disturbing…she shouldn't go to the scene…"

That last bit caught her attention. Something horrible must've happened if he didn't want her to go to the scene. She wanted to go. She had to go. This was her parents. The house where she grew up. This was not fair. She had to see this for herself before she would truly believe it. She suddenly wrenched herself out of James' comforting arms and managed to get to the fireplace, throwing some floo powder down so she could go back to Potter Manor. James called for her, but although she heard the pain in his voice as he said her name, she didn't stop. As soon as she arrived in Potter Manor, she spun to apparate to her backyard. She caught a brief glimpse of James falling out of the flames before she disappeared.

As soon as she landed and saw her childhood home in front of her in its devastation with Aurors checking around for magical traces, she immediately broke out in sobs. This was sick. It was horrible to even look at. She couldn't even imagine what her parents must've gone through before they were killed. She would've crumpled to the ground, but someone's arms stopped her from falling, and she knew without looking that it was James. He turned her gently so she was crying into his chest rather than looking at the mess in front of them.

James was horrified at what was left of the Evans' home. He was slowly realizing that this had nothing to do with Lily at all, but rather…him.

The house had been defiled in the worst possible way, and that didn't even include the horrendous sight of the Dark Mark still left blazing in the night sky above the home. There were scorch marks all over the house from random spell fire; the roof had been blown away; and there were words in red paint (or more likely blood, considering Thor's head was located on a stick near his doghouse) written all over the once white home. The phrases included things like 'stupid, filthy mudblood,' 'how dare you taint a pure-blood line,' 'even a blood traitor wouldn't marry you,' and many more untrue and nasty comments. It was clear by their work that her parents must've been tortured and killed in some gruesome way. He felt ill just thinking about what the inside of the house must look like. He was going to make sure Lily never saw it. The Aurors would fix everything back to its original state when they were finished collecting evidence, but even then, it would just make things worse. The one thing the Aurors could not do was bring her parents back to life.

The sound of Lily sobbing into his shirt tore at his heart, particularly because he felt himself the cause. Even though he had no idea how they had gotten wind of their engagement, if he hadn't asked her to marry him in the first place, her parents would be fine. The pure-blood Death Eaters would have left her and her family alone. He did the only thing he could and held her as she cried, gently running his fingers through her hair to soothe her. He knew there were really no words that he could say to make her feel better. He had gone through this type of loss himself, but at least his parents had died when they had willingly placed themselves in danger and when they had had the ability to fight back. The unfairness of her parents' murders was something he himself could not really help her with.

He lowered the two of them so he was sitting with her as she continued to cry, although she wasn't as loud as she had been. He briefly saw Alastor looking in their general direction with concerned eyes, but James just shook his head at him, indicating that they all could talk later. He lowered his head down to whisper near Lily's ear, "Sweetie, would you like me to take you away from here?"

Lily was still sniffling and crying, but he felt her nod into his chest. He made sure to alert Alastor with a hand that they were leaving before apparting the two of them directly into his bedroom. They were now sitting exactly the same way, only on his bed. They just sat there like that for a while before James finally broke the silence, "You should get some rest, Lils. We can talk in the morning. Did you want me to get you anything?"

She shook her head as she wiped at her tears. When her pretty green eyes met his, he felt horrible when he could see the pain deep within their depths. His brow furrowed, and he wished he could erase the whole incident from ever happening. The guilt he was feeling seemed to increase exponentially. "I'm so sorry this happened, beautiful."

Lily just stared at him, her lower lip trembling lightly. Everything still didn't seem to have sunk in just yet. She eventually nodded and said softly, "I know."

They didn't really bother changing or anything; he just lowered them down so they were more comfortable and pulled her to lie on his chest. He removed his glasses before turning out the lights with a wave of his hand. It took a while, but soon, Lily's breathing evened out into what he was sure going to be a restless sleep. James, however, couldn't fall asleep at all. He continued to gently run his hands through Lily's soft red hair. He couldn't help wondering what was going to happen when the shock wore off and Lily realized that this was entirely his fault. He was dreading that very moment.

Lily awoke gradually, feeling like she hadn't really slept at all. Everything seemed to come back to her in an instant. Her parents. Her family. All just gone. Her eyes welled up with tears as she just thought about it. Not to mention what had been done to her childhood home. The phrase 'stupid, filthy mudblood' seemed to ring inside of her head like a mantra that wouldn't end. She dreaded hearing what Petunia would say to her once she found out. She would blame her for everything— and rightly so.

She closed her eyes briefly. This was all her fault. She had placed her family in danger the moment she became a witch. Maybe she was a freak after all. At the very least, she should've done more to protect them from getting hurt.

The next thing she noticed as she sat up was that James was no longer there. Her brow furrowed, wondering where he would go, but then a new thought occurred to her. James had seen her home and everything that had been written about her last night too. What if he finally realized that he had asked someone so unworthy to marry him? Her heart seemed to break at the thought. She didn't think she could make it without him. It seemed so long ago that she couldn't stand him, but now, he had come to mean so much to her. She loved him so much.

She didn't really have time to ponder anything else because James walked in just then with a blueberry muffin and some pumpkin juice. His face was incredibly sad and he looked exhausted, but he sat down next to her, handing her the items. "You're awake… I know you're probably not hungry— I wasn't either when it happened to me— but you need to eat something."

She nodded slowly, her mind swirling with a bunch of dismal thoughts. He seemed distant with her. This just furthered her ideas that he was finally realizing he shouldn't be marrying a freak and a mudblood. Her mind was in a near panic. She couldn't look at him right now, especially if it would only confirm her fears. She couldn't lose him too. "Does Petunia know yet?"

James sighed as he looked at the top of his fiancée's head, the only thing he could see for the moment. She couldn't even look at him. He wondered if she was already mad at him for what had happened. He somehow managed to give her a reply, "I believe Alastor informed her last night. He wants to talk to you too."

Lily took a sip of the pumpkin juice he had brought for her. "Ok."

There was a pause as the two of them just sat there, neither touching the other. As the silence stretched on, James began to feel more and more guilty. She probably didn't even want him there— at least, that's how it felt. He tensed and quickly kissed the top of her head. "Well, I had wanted to be alone for a bit when it happened to me. Why don't you finish this food, take a shower, and then come downstairs? I'll let everyone know what's going on. Don't worry about a thing."

Lily felt ill. He was already pushing her away. He didn't even want to stay with her. She just nodded, still not looking at him. She felt him get up, but couldn't watch him walk away. As soon as the door closed, she let the tears fall. Only this time, she wasn't sure if they were for her parents or for James.

Meanwhile, James felt like throwing up as he walked down the hallway of the West Wing. Lily hadn't called him back or done anything remotely affectionate to let him know that things were ok. He slowly made his way down the stairs, each step he took feeling heavier than the last. He was supposed to be taking Lauren to King's Cross tomorrow morning so Lauren had been up early packing. He had already let her know the bad news so that left everyone else, if they hadn't already heard sometime last night or in the Daily Prophet that morning. He made his way over to the floo and made a couple of floo calls. Everyone seemed to react similarly to the horrifying news. It was completely unexpected and unfair. He began to wonder uneasily if other people might blame him for what happened too. This made him feel like getting away from the house, but as people slowly started trickling over, he was forced to be somewhat hospitable. However, this didn't stop him from maintaining his sullen silence, due to his guilt overwhelming his ability to communicate normally.

Lily had come downstairs after an hour or so, immediately getting hugged profusely by a number of people. Christina remained on one side of her while James sat on the other. He had tentatively reached out to hold her hand, which had gotten him a small smile, but it did little to reassure him about anything. Alastor had arrived a bit later in the morning to talk with Lily. She had let everyone stay to hear whatever he was going to say. Alastor told her about how they had fixed the home to its original state, told her sister about the incident (who he thought was a little bit lost in the head because she had nearly killed him with a broom the moment he had appeared through apparition), and then finally discussed her parents.

Lily had then told them all that she had to go see her sister. James had gone with her, the both of them leaving the large group of people at Potter Manor. Petunia had been irate upon the both of them arriving in Little Whinging unannounced. She called them both a large number of nasty names, clearly blaming the both of them for the Evans' deaths, before anything got discussed properly. Lily and James half-heartedly defended each other, but neither noticed that the other never said anything in defense of themselves. Petunia had eventually stuck her nose up at the both of them, saying that she would take care of the arrangements for the funeral and the Evans' home and belongings. The will that was delivered that morning after Mr. and Mrs. Evans had been taken to the coroner left Petunia in charge of their estate. Whatever was to go to Lily would be given to her, but that was the last Petunia ever wanted to see of her sister. Her pale brown eyes were dark in anger as she had spoken, and neither he nor Lily chose to argue with her all that much.

By the time they got back to Potter Manor in the evening, his house elves had made a huge amount of food for all of the people suddenly staying there. His parents' portraits had offered their condolences to Lily, clearly saddened by the unexpected loss. He and Lily had been planning to take her parents to Potter Manor in one of the next coming weekends to meet his parents. Obviously, this would never occur now. James made sure that some guestrooms were made up for everyone, and it was all too soon that he was once again alone with Lily in his room. There was hardly any talking at all. Lily had started crying once more at some point, and James had just pulled her to lie with him because the sound of Lily crying was too much for him to handle. Lily hadn't pulled away and had let him hold her. He wasn't sure what to make of that, but he hoped it was something good even if he still felt like this was all clearly his fault.

The next morning, he had left Lily to her own devices. There was still an awkwardness there that he could only attribute to her slowly hating him once more and him feeling too guilty to do anything to dispute it, but he had to take Lauren to King's Cross anyway. Lauren had given Lily a huge hug before she left, telling her that if she needed anything, she would do what she could for her. At approximately a quarter to eleven, James had grabbed a hold of Lauren's empty cage, considering King was out hunting, and her shrunken trunk before taking them both to the station. After watching Lauren sneak through platform 9 ¾ first, James followed shortly after. He enlarged her belongings, but didn't really say much. Lauren furrowed her brow at him, obviously concerned for him too. "Don't worry, Jimmy. She'll come around. She sort of reminds me of how I was when Uncle Drew and Aunt Judy died. You were there to help me through it, and I know you'll do the same for her."

James nodded half-heartedly, clearly not believing her at all. "Thanks, Lauren. I'm going to miss having you around, you know. I suppose I should give you the lecture to behave yourself like my Mum used to, but those aren't my sentiments at all. I suppose you should be careful though. Lots of stuff going on, as you can obviously tell now."

Lauren rolled her eyes at him, ruffling his hair. "I'll miss you too. Give Lily a big hug from me everyday. Je t'aime."

James actually smiled fully at that, even if it was only for a moment. He gave her a brotherly hug while replying, "Je t'aime aussi, Lauren."

He helped her get her things on board before waving goodbye as she made her way onto the train for the last time. He waited until he couldn't see her anymore before he let his emotional mask fall over him once again. As soon as the train began moving a few minutes later, he apparated back to Potter Manor.

Over the next few days, things remained rather tense, although James and Lily's troubles remained muted due to the constant flow of people flooding in and out of the Manor. The funeral was the worst. Petunia and Vernon had ignored both Lily and James during the entire thing. Other family and friends offered their condolences to both sisters, but James could see how much Petunia's dismissal bothered Lily. When it was all finally over, Petunia had stepped up to Lily and merely handed her a piece of paper with something written on it and a set of keys. She then told her sister icily that she was to have their mother's car and half of the selling price of the house, which Petunia would place in the bank account number she had just handed to her. If there was anything of their mother's or father's she might want to keep, she was to go to the house to get it herself. Everything Petunia had wanted, she had already taken, and everything else was to be sold with the house or disposed of. James had no idea that anyone could be so cold. Lily had just remained silent, nodding at the appropriate times.

Lily had told him that she didn't want to go back to the house, but after he asked her if there was anything she wanted that he could go look for, she told him reluctantly that there had been a locket of her mother's and a pocket watch her father used to carry that she wouldn't mind having. James had kissed her forehead before he watched her apparate back to Potter Manor with barely any emotion on her face. It was the only place he'd kissed since he had found out what had happened, considering he didn't think he should try and push his luck to ever get to kiss her pretty lips again. She looked angry and distant enough with him already without him making it worse.

He quickly apparated himself to the Evans' home and was deeply saddened at looking at the home in its original state without Mr. and Mrs. Evans there to greet him. He made his way inside the now immaculate house and up into her parents' bedroom. After a short search, he found the pieces Lily had wanted, but noticed her father's bookshelves in the corner. With a flick of his wand, all of the books were sent to his library at Potter Manor; he was sure Lily would probably like having them. He also made a stop in her old bedroom, wondering if there was anything else left there that he could bring back for her. When he found there wasn't, he went down to their garage. He finished by using a powerful placement charm on her mother's car to send it to the front of Potter Manor before he apparated back there himself.

The next month was equally unpleasant. The two of them rarely talked, although they seemed to like having the other nearby for some reason. With work, order stuff, and their friends constantly around, they never talked about anything meaningful when they did actually speak. Their friends had commented on them both being quiet, but hardly anything else. It wasn't until Sirius and Christina had dragged the both of them out on a lunch date that the two friends started to feel something was amiss. By the time the four of them all apparated back to Potter Manor, Christina was trying desperately to figure out what was up. Every time she had talked with Lily over the last month, she had mentioned things were ok with her and James, but then again, that was the end of the discussion on her and James. She wondered why she hadn't picked up on that before. She gave them both a look and was about to say something now that they all had some privacy within the confines of Potter Manor, but was interrupted by Lily saying softly, "I think I'm going to go see Shelley today. I haven't talked with her in a while."

Christina didn't say anything, but that excuse was weak. She had personally seen Lily talking with Shelley the other day. James didn't argue with her either, which seemed unlike him, instead bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss before saying resignedly, "Ok, Lils. I'll see you later then."

Lily gave the three of them a small, somewhat fake smile before apparating away. Sirius was oblivious, but Christina had watched James' face fall the moment Lily was gone before he became sullen once more. He looked absolutely miserable. Sirius seemed to finally notice the silence. "So Prongs, where did you say that joke stuff was that I was going to grab for Moody?"

James mumbled something about it being in Sirius' old room before he just apparated away silently. Christina and Sirius were both startled by his abrupt disappearance. Christina turned to Sirius, her blue eyes wide. "How long have they been like this, Sirius?"

Sirius' brow furrowed, obviously still astounded by his best mate's actions. "I have no idea. I guess I've noticed they've been quiet for a while, but this distance thing is brand new. They used to be really close. James has been quiet at work too, and then there was..."

When he trailed off and his face scrunched with concern, Christina prodded him. "What?"

Sirius looked pained. "Ok, you know I'd never admit this to anyone but you, but James is way better than me at Transfiguration. He's taught me all that I know. We had our test for the disguise and concealment stuff two weeks ago, and he barely passed. He should have passed with a 200%, but he only did what was required of him."

Christina sat down on the couch, shocked. "Really?"

Sirius nodded, sitting down next to her. "When he's upset, he usually goes off by himself. I've caught him flying out by himself more than a few times, but I didn't really think much of it. Lauren usually wouldn't let him isolate himself, but she's been back at school. He also used to get upset with her and me for intruding on him so we both try and give him some space now. Every time I've brought something up though, he's changed the subject. What about Lily?"

As Christina was listening to this, something was beginning to dawn on her. Lily had been equally withdrawn and obviously, from the sound of it anyway, Lily and James were not talking to each other. This could only mean that they were both feeling rotten for reasons they were keeping to themselves. What would be so bad that they wouldn't want to tell the other? They had always told each other everything before. It suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. Christina shot up off the couch, pulling at her blonde hair in frustration. "Oh. My. God. Those IDIOTS!"

Sirius was looking at her like she had gone mad. "Ummm, Chrissy? What is it?"

She pointed at him with a crazed look in her blue eyes. "You. Go find James."

She then moved quickly away from the couch, spinning on the spot. All Sirius could hear before she disappeared was her mumbling something about bloody Gryffindors. Sirius was perplexed as to his girlfriend's behavior, but he was sure she was doing something about their best mates which was a good thing.

He made his way up to the West Wing, quickly grabbing the stuff for Moody before heading to James' room. He wondered vaguely why he and Lily hadn't moved into the master bedroom yet like they had talked about doing before the whole thing with her parents had happened. He didn't bother to knock on James' door and just walked in, but he quickly noticed his best mate wasn't even there. His brow furrowed as he called out for his friend, only to hear nothing in response. He frowned and tried to think what James would do if he was upset. It didn't take him long to start heading up the stairs to go to what he referred to as 'the tower.' James often went there when he wanted some space. However, upon making it up to the top, no one was there. Sirius was confused, but on a perusal of the Potter grounds, his grey eyes hit the quidditch pitch. Maybe James had gone out for a fly. He quickly turned around and headed back down the stairs so he could go outside.

After only a few minutes, Sirius was no longer present to hear the sigh that was released into the tower room. James carefully pulled the invisibility cloak off of his head and continued to look troubled out the many windows. The colorful display of autumn all over the grounds and the overall beautiful view soothed him a bit, but they didn't change the fact that Lily was probably going to break up with him at any moment because it was clear that she blamed him for everything that had happened. He had been staring at his watch for days now, and while she was constantly thinking about him and this should be a good thing, it could only mean something bad because they still weren't talking and she had practically stopped looking at him altogether. Besides, the torment of being physically close to her, but not mentally or emotionally close to her was driving him insane. What made him feel worse was that he would let her do it. He would rather see her happy.

Christina was furious as she appeared with a crack in Shelley's kitchen. She turned her narrowed blue eyes at the redhead who had her head in her arms while she sniffled as she sat at the kitchen table. Shelley had made tea and was currently pouring some out for Lily and herself. With a wave of her wand, a third cup appeared for Christina. She gave Christina a look of concern and with a curious nod in Lily's direction said, "What happened? She just came in here and started to cry."

Christina rolled her eyes and practically shouted in frustration, "It's because they're both being bloody Gryffindors!"

Lily's head shot up at her outburst, her green eyes still full of tears. "What are you talking about?"

Christina sat down in the chair next to her, her arms flailing around her. "What in the world are you doing to yourself? And to James? He's _miserable_!"

Shelley's brow furrowed. "Lily, you said that you and James were doing just fine. What is really going on?"

Lily's tears slowly fell down her cheeks as she shook her head, clearly upset. "I don't _know_! He obviously doesn't want to be with someone like me anymore. It's all my fault. My parents wouldn't have been killed if I hadn't been a stupid, filthy mudblood. Why would he want to be with me anyway? He could be with someone so much better…"

Both girls gasped in outrage. Christina scoffed at Lily. "Are you _trying_ to take the mickey right now? James has been in love with you for years, and you think he suddenly woke up and thought you less of a person for being muggleborn? Are you out of your damn mind?"

Shelley sat down, equally upset. "What she said. And why in the world are you calling yourself that? I'm a muggleborn too, you know, and I personally know that I'm more skilled than a lot of people. You, of all people, are more gifted at magic than a lot of people. You shouldn't put yourself down that way. Not to mention, there is no way in hell that your parents' murders were your fault. Voldemort and those pure-blood crazed Death Eaters are the ones responsible, Lily. No one else."

Lily shook her head, looking hopelessly miserable. "You don't know. He can hardly look at me! Obviously, that's what it is."

Christina grabbed her shoulders so she would face her. "Sweetie, you should know exactly what he's doing because you are doing the same…damn…thing."

Shelley's eyes widened in surprise, but Lily still looked perplexed and even angry. "What are you on about?"

Christina sighed in exasperation. This should be so bloody obvious. Why she was the only one realizing what the both of them were doing was beyond her. "He's blaming _himself_, Lily! He thinks your parents' murders were all HIS fault!"

Lily's tilted her head in confusion, sniffing slightly. "But it wasn't!"

Christina nodded triumphantly, gesturing around wildly. Finally, she was getting somewhere. "_Thank you_!"

Lily still had no idea what Christina was getting at. "Why would he blame himself? He didn't even do anything."

Shelley sighed, and Lily immediately turned to look at her. She spoke softly, "Think about it, Lily. He probably thinks that by asking you to marry him he set the whole thing in motion. From what I know of James, he is well aware that his family is known as a blood traitor. By inviting you into his family, he did it knowing that you would be included in their hate."

Lily looked appalled. "He couldn't possibly have thought that. That's ridiculous. Besides, I love him. I don't care about all that."

Christina just nodded slowly. "Exactly. Lily, you're both blaming yourselves for absolutely no reason. You're both hurting each other for absolutely no reason. I wouldn't be surprised if you were both thinking of giving the other up to make the other happy. If that isn't love, then I don't know what is."

Lily just sat there, staring hard at the table in front of her. Was that really what they both had been doing? Were they both being too noble and too stubborn for their own good? She suddenly looked up horrified. "Oh my God! What the hell are we doing?"

Christina smiled. "Will you go already? I think you've lost too much time as it is."

Lily immediately hugged Christina. "Thank you." She pulled back some, wiping some remaining tears from her eyes before looking at her expectantly. "Will you be my Maid of Honor?"

Christina laughed. "You bet your ass I will. Now, go already!"

Lily laughed for the first time in a long time before getting up quickly and apparating back to Potter Manor. Christina sighed and turned back to Shelley with an amused expression on her face. "Did that really just happen?"

Shelley nodded her head wearily as she mindlessly stirred sugar into her tea. "Yup. I have never been so happy to be a former Hufflepuff. All that Gryffindor nobility crap is a bit much for me."

Christina snickered and then picked up her own tea, holding it out. "Tell me about it. Perhaps I should've let the sorting hat place me in Ravenclaw. Cheers."

Shelley held out her teacup, clipping it with Christina's. "Cheers. Let's hope she fixes this mess. I've never seen two people more in love than they are."

Christina rolled her eyes, nodding affirmatively. "I'll drink to that."

With a soft crack, Lily found herself in the living room at Potter Manor. No one could be seen so she hurried upstairs, only to find his room empty. She frowned, but then realized that if James wasn't seeking comfort from her, he would go off by himself. She quickly ran up the stairs to get to the tower room.

She couldn't believe how stupid they both had been acting. The longer she thought about it, the more ridiculous it was. Every little thing the two of them had been doing had just been perpetuating the other's false beliefs. When he wouldn't look at her, she had assumed it was because he didn't know how to break her heart and tell her he deserved better, but he was really just too ashamed to look at her because he thought the whole thing was his fault. When she wouldn't look at him, he probably assumed she _did_ think it was his fault, but she had really thought herself too unworthy to have his attention. When he hadn't kissed her, she had assumed it was because he no longer wanted to be with her, but he probably just didn't want to make her more upset at him than he thought she already was. It was mind-boggling to think about. She supposed it was the price they paid to be so similar to one another. From now on, she would make a point to just talk with him, whatever the problem. There should be no reason for them to avoid the issue like they had been doing. The first week or so after it happened with the funeral and all of the other distractions, maybe, but after that, there was no excuse.

As she approached the tower room, she suddenly became nervous, although she had no idea why. This was James. They talked about everything so why would this be any different? She hesitantly pushed open the door and found herself staring at James' profile. He hadn't even heard her approach, likely too immersed in his own thoughts. He looked utterly miserable, and it broke her heart. She spoke hesitantly into the silence, "James?"

His head whipped around quickly in surprise, and he gave her a forced smile when he saw her there. "Lily…hey…I thought you were going over to see Shelley."

Lily felt awful when he wouldn't meet her eyes. She paused for a few seconds before finally saying softly, "Christina told me what we're doing."

James barely batted an eye, and Lily was positive that he looked like he was bracing himself for her to break up with him. She couldn't stand it anymore, and instead, just ran over and plopped onto his lap while throwing her arms around his neck. She felt tears sting her eyes when she felt his arms come around her tentatively. She had missed this even more than she had thought. Finally having the contact she had been craving relieved so much weight from her shoulders. She sighed into his neck. "We're such idiots, you know that?"

James was thoroughly confused. The girl he loved, who would barely look at or touch him, was finally in his arms, and yet, it didn't make any sense. "Ummm, what do you mean?"

She pulled her head back and looked at him, but he still would barely meet her eyes. She gently pulled his face around so she could see his hazel eyes before saying, "James, I don't blame you at all for what happened."

James' face scrunched up in pain. He hadn't expected her to say that, and her saying it didn't make him believe it even though he desperately wanted to. "But it _was_ my fault! The whole thing! I should've known they'd do something! I even told Sirius I didn't want to ask you yet because of the danger involved, and look what happened! If I hadn't asked, then your family would be fine."

She shook her head as he spoke, feeling horrible that this had been festering inside of him for a month. She insisted, "No, it wasn't. I was _happy_ that you asked me. I _wanted_ you to ask me. You could never have predicted this to happen, and the fact that it did happen was an unfortunate side effect, but _not _your fault. There's no one to blame here except Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

James was searching her face as she said all this and could find no reason not to believe her. However, if this was how she felt, then things _still_ didn't make any sense. "Then, why have you been avoiding me, if not for you blaming me for it all?"

Lily instantly looked sad, and she was now the one who could no longer meet his eyes. She felt so stupid for believing he wouldn't want her anymore. He had never given her a reason to think that, and yet, she had thought it anyway. "I blamed myself for it happening."

James looked surprised. He gently ran his hand through her soft red hair in comfort. "How could this ever be your fault, Lily?"

Lily grimaced. The words sounded so ridiculous now as she grudgingly admitted softly, "Because I'm muggleborn."

James was shocked. "Are you out of your mind? That means _nothing_."

Lily nodded wearily and still looked away. "I know, but after seeing the house and then when you wouldn't look at me…well, I felt that was why."

James lifted her chin up so she was looking at him once more, and his expression was fierce. "That has _never_ mattered to me. Ever. And it shouldn't matter to you. You are a better witch than the whole lot of them. I love you not because of all that, but because of who you are. You _know_ that."

Lily struggled to hold back her tears as she nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. Call it a crisis of faith?"

James rolled his eyes playfully, and she was happy to see a hint of his former mischievousness starting to shine through once more. "I suppose you had just lost your parents so I guess I can forgive you just this once."

She smiled weakly at him. "Thanks, I think."

He pulled her close to him so he was hugging her once more. "I'm sorry too. We really are idiots."

Lily chuckled quietly into his neck, feeling better than she had in a long time. He always made her feel better. Even when they hadn't been talking all that much, she still had felt the need to be in his presence. Now that all of that nonsense was gone, it was even better. "Christina was ready to come after us."

James sighed, resting more comfortably against the windows while running his fingers gently across Lily's back as he held her on his lap. "Well, I'm glad she finally pointed out our stupidity. I missed you."

She nodded slightly. "I missed you more."

His voice was soft, "Nonsense."

When his lips finally met hers for the first time in a month, she was quite sure she was happier than she had ever been. It was contact she had been craving for so long that she was more than willing to lose herself within the kiss. She had no recollection of how much time had gone by as they continued to reacquaint themselves with each other. When they finally did break the kiss, they were both breathing rather heavily against one another. James nuzzled her neck a bit, his lips lingering along her collarbone. Lily couldn't help thinking that there was nowhere else she'd rather be than in his arms like this. "James?"

His arms tightened around her as he thoroughly enjoyed merely being that close to her again. "Hmmm?"

"I think we should just get married. Everyone else can just sod off for all I care."

James pulled back to look at her curiously, but smiled at the idea. "Yeah?"

She nodded with a similar smile, tightening her hold around his neck. "Yeah."

He chuckled. "I would marry you any day of the week. Whatever you want, Lily love. Consider it done."

Her green eyes sparkled. "Good. Now, where were we?"

She was pretty sure she saw James grin wickedly at her before his lips reached hers once again, but after that, Lily preferred not to think about anything else at all.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31 – Preparations and a History Lesson

Over the next few weeks, Lily couldn't seem to stop smiling. It was true that her parents were gone, but at the same time, having James in her life, not to mention all of her friends, made her know that she would never truly be alone, unwanted, or unloved. Of course, the fact that she and James were closer than they had ever been before helped tremendously. She was sure the two of them had talked for hours after they had made up, diving into each other's innermost fears and concerns about everything which they hadn't exactly been as forthcoming with before, considering their troubles with voicing their feelings over the last month when they should have. Then, there had been the make-up sex. Lily had been walking on air for three days just reveling in the memory. It's not like they didn't have a repeat performance often enough, but that first time after a month had been nothing short of amazing. She actually wouldn't mind fighting with James every once in a while just for that.

They had also been talking nonstop about planning a rather small and quiet wedding for the two of them. Because of everything that had gone on with her parents, they wanted to keep things a bit private, but the most obvious reason for keeping things small and private was because neither one of them really had all that much family to attend a ceremony anyway. James, of course, only had Lauren, Dumbledore, and Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth— all of which were not exactly spoken about as 'family.' Lily, being a muggleborn witch, had her sister who hated her at the moment and nothing but muggle relatives who would know nothing about magic as her family. This left them with very few people (along with their friends and their families) who would even understand a magical wedding ceremony anyway.

James had explained that there really wasn't that much difference between a muggle wedding and a magical wedding, but he knew that there was something that you did with your wands. Lily had rolled her eyes at his weak and unhelpful explanation before looking things up herself. He was right for the most part, but the wand part was to magically bind one to the other for life similar to that of an Unbreakable Vow, but without the whole 'you break the vow, you die' part, although the vow was equally strong.

After that, they had been discussing what they wanted to do for the ceremony, but James had just smiled and stated that anything she wanted, she could have, and there would be no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Lily hadn't really approved of this, but James had laughed it off, stating that he had more than enough money to make sure she got whatever she wanted, especially if the wedding ceremony was going to be simple anyway. He was being really sweet about the whole thing, yes, but she still didn't really feel comfortable about it. She had reluctantly agreed, but secretly knew that she would still try and pay for what she could herself if the opportunity presented it. Her parents had left her with a decent amount of money, which she had transferred to Gringotts. When they were married, she knew that her money would automatically converge into the Potter vault (or vaults the way James talked about it), but for now, her vault was still available for her to use.

The only thing that had been decided so far was that the ceremony would take place at Potter Manor in the extensive backyard. Since it was getting cooler outside and the trees were starting to lose their leaves, James had his house elf, Oscar, set up an elvish 'weather ward' to lock the weather of a large area, just behind his house, so it remained untainted by the changing weather around it. The blocked off area looked just like the end of summer, which was still a bit colorful. They had begun to talk somewhat about other things, but James had made a face and said that he would rather she choose most of the things like flowers and such, using the girls' input rather than his own with him being a guy and all. He had then smiled devilishly, saying that the only thing she didn't have to worry about was their honeymoon, which he'd take care of.

She sighed softly as she made her way through Diagon Alley inconspicuously. Her red hair often drew attention so she had worn her black cloak with a hood so she could blend in a bit better. Things had gotten quieter after the attack on her parents, but it was clear that people had begun to be more than a little wary about this Voldemort character and his Death Eaters. Finally.

However, they were starting to call him You-Know-Who more often than not. This annoyed her. It was only a name. The other problem with this was that Voldemort probably reveled in this fear, considering it a victory over the masses. If people were afraid to say his name, it made things easier for him to cause chaos and attract weak followers who were too afraid to stand against him. It was times like these when she was happy to be a Gryffindor.

She was currently heading to Madam Malkin's to meet with Christina, Shelley, and Lauren to get fitted for some dress robes for the wedding. Lauren had gotten special permission from Dumbledore so she could apparate to Diagon Alley during her Hogsmeade visit this week before Halloween for the fitting. James and the Marauders, his groomsmen, had gone last weekend. She made a few turns and dodged a couple people before she heard familiar laughter up ahead. She looked up and smiled at seeing Christina and Shelley waiting out front for her. "Hey, girls."

Both girls turned when she walked up. Christina smirked at her. "You look spooky with your hood up."

Lily rolled her green eyes playfully. "Thanks, Chris. _You_ try blending into the crowd with red hair. We don't need any trouble."

Shelley laughed. "I agree. Come on, let's get inside."

All three girls made their way inside the shop and were greeted instantly by Madam Malkin herself. "Hello there! It's so good to see you girls. And Lily, getting married! I'm so excited for you."

Lily smiled. "Thanks, Miss Malkin. I'm quite excited myself."

She waved a hand at her and then quickly tucked a few strands of her hair that had fallen out of her bun behind her ears. "Oh, hush child. Call me Vespa. Now, we are here for dress robes! You girls start looking, and Lily, I'm under orders to make sure you get whatever you like."

Lily scowled as her two best mates started laughing. They were well aware that she did not like it when James kept telling her to get whatever she wanted. "He did _not _tell you that."

Madam Malkin grinned wickedly, clearly amused by her response. "Oh, he did. Quite the charmer, that one is. Quite persuasive too. I suppose his friends helped and all, but…"

Lily sighed heavily, although she really wasn't all that upset about it. James actually was a complete gentleman and a sweetheart. She whined weakly, "But I'm the bride! I can pay for things."

"Righhhht. That's why you're marrying Jimmy-I-would-give-Lily-the-moon-if-she-asked-me-to-Potter."

Lily turned around at that comment, narrowing her green eyes at Lauren, who was standing in the doorway to the shop looking back at her with that sarcastic grin of hers firmly in place. She playfully responded, "Why did I make you a bridesmaid again?"

Lauren just walked up to her and placed her hands on her shoulders, squeezing them gently. Her hazel eyes were twinkling with mischief in a way that reminded Lily of James. "Because Jimmy would pout for a week if you didn't. And you love me too."

Lily turned to Christina and Shelley pitifully. "Do I at least have your support over this?"

Christina and Shelley exchanged glances before giving her some sheepish smiles. Christina sighed exaggeratedly, looking at her fingernails and avoiding Lily's eyes. "Well, like Vespa said, James can be mighty persuasive…"

Shelley nodded in agreement, her blue eyes sparkling in a teasing fashion. "Definitely a charmer."

Lily was shocked as all four of them were now giggling at her as they sifted through different robe materials. "You're telling me he spoke with _each_ _one_ of you about this?"

When they all nodded, she gave up. She could literally see James with his mischievous expression standing in front of her, and there was no way she could be mad. She shook her head with a smile at the lengths James would go to make sure she was happy. She knew she would do the same for him so she finally conceded, "Fine then. We're here for dress robes, and I'm not leaving until I find the perfect ones."

The girls all looked around, showing Lily different designs she might like before Lauren found a beautiful pale mint green satin material that Lily fell in love with. She found the matching white material for herself and while the 3 girls took turns getting measured by Vespa, Lily continued to look around at various dress designs for how she would want the girls' dress robes to look like and a dress design she might like for herself. She eventually found a nice pattern for the girls with spaghetti straps, the dress fitted throughout the body while stopping at about mid-calf. For herself, she found a gorgeous strapless pattern that would hug her upper body and then fall gracefully to the ground. While she got measured for her dress robes, they all discussed flower possibilities, what they would do for each other's hair, shoes, etc.

While they all talked and laughed, Lily couldn't help but think how nice and fun this all was compared to what this had been like with Petunia. She wished she had her sister there in some respects, but at the same time, she knew they no longer had the relationship they had had when they were little. She knew that she was already planning on sending her sister an invitation to the wedding with a portkey, but she was unsure if her sister would even bother. She was surely still quite upset with her about their parents and perhaps about Vernon finding all about magic. She hadn't tried to contact her sister since the funeral and wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

Madam Malkin soon let the girls go, telling them that she would make the dress robes for them and they would be ready by the end of the week. Lily could then come and pick them up along with the boys' dress robes all at the same time. Lily had thanked her profusely before they all left the shop. The whole thing had taken a lot less time than they had thought it would so the girls all made their way to the Leaky Cauldron for a bit of lunch and continued their discussion about wedding things for the whole afternoon. They quickly lost track of time. Lauren had nearly jumped out of her chair when they realized she had to get back to Hogsmeade immediately so she could make the carriages or Dumbledore would be upset with her. She hugged Lily quickly, telling her she was looking forward to the wedding in a few weeks before apparating away from right inside the Leaky Cauldron, even though she could've walked the twenty feet to go outside.

The girls were just going to continue their discussion when James made his way inside the Leaky Cauldron from the muggle London entrance a few minutes later. He looked around briefly and stopped with a smile when he spotted the girls. "Ladies! I was afraid you'd be stuck all day at Madam Malkin's… I was just coming to get you so I could make sure you all ate some food at least, but I see it wasn't necessary."

Shelley laughed. "Ick. If we had been stuck in there all day, I would have been sick. I do not like shopping excursions that last all day."

Lily nodded with a smile. "My sentiments exactly."

James just grinned. "Good. I trust you found what you were looking for, Lily love?"

Lily gave him a look, but it was hard because he looked utterly adorable when he was being mischievous. Not that she would ever tell him that. "I'm still mad at you for that."

James shrugged, still grinning. "That's ok."

Christina looked up at him expectantly, her blue eyes sparkling. "Is my miscreant with you? Didn't you both have to go into work today, even though it's Saturday?"

James nodded, frowning a bit. "We both went in for a while for some extra training. We're basically going to do that every weekend now. I think they want to push some of us through the program more quickly so they can get us out in the field faster. Aurors are in top demand right now, unfortunately, considering this Voldemort business. Sirius didn't come with me though— I was hoping to steal Lily away from you all for a bit if you were finished shopping for dress robes. I think he went back to his flat."

Shelley rolled her eyes with a sigh, although there was a hint of a smile on her face. "Well, I _guess_ we can let you have Lily, James. Christina will probably want to go see her man too. I suppose I need to find a man myself."

Christina smiled wickedly at her. "And who was just telling us about Devon and that mysterious incident in—"

Shelley immediately covered Christina's mouth with her hand, blushing furiously. "I think we should go now."

Lily and James were laughing at the both of them as the two girls made their way outside, arguing playfully with the other as they went. Lily looked up at James once more when they were finally left alone, giving him a pretty smile. "What did you want to steal me away for?"

James pulled her to her feet, smiling roguishly. "Well, for lots of reasons usually, but this, my love, is for me to know and you to find out. Come on."

Lily looked at him curiously, but let him pull her back towards Diagon Alley. When he pulled out his wand, tapping the brick wall in the appropriate places, Lily quickly flipped the hood of her cloak back up. James quickly did the same with his own cloak before grabbing her hand and leading her through the alleyway. Lily observed with a small smile that James had begun walking with her on his left side again, clearly keeping his right hand available for any possible trouble. He had been using more and more protective Auror-like strategies whenever they were out in public together. She found it rather sweet, although she felt she could take care of herself. She knew that he already knew that was true deep down, but he always felt better when he acted this way so she never brought it up. "So where are we heading, sweetheart?"

James gave her a look, knowing that she hated not knowing what was going on. She had an innate problem with being left in the dark, but he enjoyed surprising her too much. "It's a surprise, Lils. Well, it's more of a secret. You can't say a word to anyone. ANYONE. I'm so happy you are a natural at Occlumency. It makes sharing my many secrets so much easier."

Lily was thoroughly intrigued, and she immediately tried eliminating locations in her head. "A place in Diagon Alley? I've been to almost every shop already, silly."

James chuckled, pulling her into the shadows near the side of some secondhand shop so they were out of the way of prying eyes. "Not every one, and not this secret one either."

Lily gave him a look as he just stared at her for a moment. He had a habit of just staring at her a lot, not that she minded. She tilted her head at him, smiling slightly. "Why are we hiding in the shadows over here?"

James looked around, checking if they were being watched. "So I could do this."

He leaned over and kissed her deeply, catching her a bit off guard. His face remained close to her when he finally broke away. He continued softly, "Well, and this."

She felt him tap her head with his wand, causing a cold rush to flow down her spine. Lily knew instinctively that he had disillusioned her, and she watched as he quickly mimicked the action on himself. As soon as he had disappeared into the background and shadows, she said, "Ok, I'm completely confused right now."

James laughed and reached out tentatively, ultimately finding her hand once more. "I know, but all will become clear. Now, follow me close. Walk slowly so there are not too many ripples and be quiet, ok?"

Lily nodded, but then remembered that he probably couldn't see her very well, if at all, so she quickly added, "Ok."

She walked closely with him as he led them slowly toward the overgrowth of trees and brush surrounding Gringotts. Lily's brow furrowed, wondering where in the world they were going. They paused occasionally, waiting for people to go by before they reached their destination and were finally hidden amongst the trees. James got rid of their disillusionment and continued walking with her along the Gringotts wall while saying mysteriously, "Almost there."

Lily held onto his arm as they walked through the trees for a few minutes, and he eventually stopped them by a rosebush. He reached out, plucking a rose from the plant, and he quickly handed it to Lily with a wink. She took the rose with a smile and was about to ask him again what was going on when a soft voice suddenly rang out, "Password?"

James chuckled when Lily practically jumped out of her skin, although he remembered that he had been no better about two months ago when he had come here for her engagement ring and he had actually known that this place existed somewhere at the time. "Godric Gryffindor."

Lily's eyes widened when a golden archway appeared before them along the wall. James leaned over and kissed her cheek, still chuckling over her surprised features. "Come on, Lily love."

He walked through the wall as if it weren't there, pulling Lily in behind him. James smiled down at the old goblin in front of them. "Hi, Marwalk. We're here to see Renada. Is she in her shop?"

The goblin smiled tiredly up at the both of them. "She should still be there, Master Potter."

James thanked him and gently pulled Lily along as she continued to look around in fascination. There were goblins walking around all over, in and out of shops just like the wizards and witches in Diagon Alley. "Ok, where in the world are we? And since when are you on a first name basis with random goblins?"

James gave her a sheepish smile. "Well, that only happened recently. I've been down here a few more times since the first time in years and finally started asking for names. It felt weird to come here and not know anyone. And we're in the goblin village. It's not known to wizards because only a few wizarding families are welcome, mine being one of them."

Lily was still looking around with a smile on her face. "Wow. Who's Renada?"

James pointed up ahead, and Lily saw that they were heading toward a jewelry shop. Her brow furrowed, and she looked at him curiously, fingering her engagement ring. "Is this where…"

James leaned over and kissed her forehead gently. "Yup. I figured we should get our wedding bands from here too. That way, they'll match the goblin metal of your ring."

Lily smiled. "You're sweet."

James laughed and opened the door for her. "It depends on the day. Besides, Renada told me she wanted to meet you and insisted for the millionth time that I bring you down the last time I was here."

Lily made her way inside the shop and was overwhelmed by the beautiful jewelry suddenly surrounding her. Just then, a female goblin came out from the back, smiling at her visitors. "Master Potter! Is this your lovely young lady?"

James chuckled. "Yes, Renada. This is my Lily. Lily, meet Renada."

Renada nodded toward Lily. "Lovely to meet you, dear. He would _not_ stop talking about you the last time he was here."

Lily blushed furiously at this, and James snickered beside her. "Don't embarrass her. You promised you wouldn't."

Renada gave him a look, heading back a ways to pull out a tray of rings for them to look at. She obviously already knew why they were there. "I know. It was supposed to embarrass you anyway. Obviously, I need to do better."

Lily actually laughed at that, but James just smiled innocently. "I can take it."

Renada waved him off. "Fine, fine. Now, let me take another look at that beautiful ring of yours, my dear. I want to make sure we get the match correctly."

Lily held out her left hand near the tray of rings and Renada quickly picked out two rings, matching the particular goblin metal easily. She quickly began putting them in pretty gold and black boxes as she looked back up at the both of them. "Now, do you remember how to do the engraving like I told you, Master Potter?"

James shook his head. "I'm sure Lily would be better at remembering it than I would anyway."

Renada and Lily each gave him a look while he grinned cheekily back at the both of them. Lily turned back to Renada and asked with a sigh, "What's the spell?"

Renada nodded towards the rings. "When you both decide on something to engrave on each other's rings, you must hold the ring in your hand, touch your wand to it, and say 'per amor, whatever you'd like to engrave, scribo.' Of course, you don't have to do that at all, but most couples like to."

Lily nodded. "That sounds simple enough."

James agreed, taking the boxed rings from the counter. "Thanks again for everything, Renada."

The female goblin merely grinned and shooed them out. "You're most welcome, Master Potter. Now, go be young and in love. It was a pleasure meeting you, the future Mrs. Potter."

Lily smiled at that while James chuckled. They both said their goodbyes and started heading back the way they came. Lily looked over to him curiously. "Why did she not ask you for any money?"

James smiled. "They all know my vault number, at least that's what she said when I bought your other ring. It's kind of scary, but although goblins are known for keeping their goods close to them and are not too fond of wizards, they are quite fair and are vehemently against stealing. Besides, I don't really care about how much it costs anyway. It's for you and for me."

She leaned her head on his arm as they walked together. "I suppose. Thanks for taking me down here."

James shrugged. "My pleasure, love. You realize you are three weeks away from being a Potter yourself, meaning you're now welcome down here anytime too."

Lily smiled teasingly. "Yes, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Who would have thought?"

He laughed and poked her in her side. "Cheeky little minx, and yet, I'm madly in love with you."

Lily's green eyes sparkled from just underneath her black hood as she gazed up at him happily. "And I couldn't be more in love with you."

James grumbled as an annoying buzzing sound continued to reverberate throughout Potter Manor. It had only been a couple of minutes, but he figured Lily would have turned it off by now. He knew it was one of her timer charms for her potions in the drawing room.

He quickly closed one of his Auror texts that he had been looking over, sighing to himself. Obviously, he was going to have to go find her in order to shut off the offensive noise, although he had no idea why she couldn't hear it herself. As soon as he had that thought, however, he realized that she must be in the library. The Potter library had an annoying habit of casting silencing or imperturbable charms along its walls by itself when someone was reading or studying in there. He had forgotten to mention that to her.

He rolled off of their bed and made his way out of the master bedroom they had finally moved into. It still felt a bit weird to him, considering it had been his parents' room for so long. However, his mother's portrait had decided to take it upon herself to insist that he was being completely ridiculous and they should move in post haste. The two of them had moved in soon after that so they wouldn't have his mother's portrait eyeing them every few minutes. Lily had found the whole thing rather funny. It had been nice to see her laughing again. She still remained a bit downhearted over the loss of her own parents. He knew, of course, that the pang of loss would always be there. His had never fully gone away. However, he knew it was particularly hard since they were currently planning their wedding. He frowned slightly. He wished his parents could be there just as he was sure Lily wished hers could be there.

He shook his head as he made his way down the corridor and toward the stairwell. After work, he and Lily had eaten a quick dinner together before he went off to work on some Auror stuff in the training room in the basement and then read over some stuff they would be tested on soon upstairs in their room. Lily had some research to do for work herself, and she had wanted to finish up some work on her potions. James was aware she was making another round of polyjuice or two for the Order to keep the supply up, but she was also working on two other potions— one for Remus and one for work. He had no idea how she kept them all straight.

He was going to be leaving in another hour or so anyway. Sirius' birthday had been two weekends ago, Remus' was tomorrow, and the guys had all wanted to do some sort of stag night for him so they were all going over to Sirius' flat that evening to celebrate all three at once. Peter was getting the best deal, considering he got to enjoy all three instances without having to take any shit all evening— Sirius and Remus for getting older and James for getting married. Sirius was already over the moon that James, out of all the Marauders, was getting married first, not that James minded in the least. He was madly in love with Lily and couldn't be happier about it.

Lily had gone out last weekend with Christina and Shelley (since Lauren had been stuck at school) and did something as a hen night (or rather a hen day) of sorts. He didn't understand how they could be gone for like sixteen hours together for something like that, but Lily had given him a mischievous smile and told him that girls had much more clever ideas than mere drinking games for something like this. That had earned her a huge tickling match, which he would've won if he didn't love her so much. It was sometimes more fun to let her win anyway. He grinned at the memory.

The buzzing noise was considerably louder as he made his way down the West Wing first floor corridor. He gently pushed open the library doors and smiled at seeing Lily curled up in one of the armchairs with a book in her lap and about seven or eight more books sitting on the nearby table. She turned immediately at the door opening, her eyes wide. "Is that my alarm?"

He nodded, looking sheepish and running a hand through his hair. "Yeah… It's my fault really. I forgot to tell you the Potter library sometimes casts charms to mask noises when someone is reading or working in here. It's only been on for a few minutes."

Lily chuckled, as she waved her wand to end the annoying sound. "Interesting. I suppose next time I'll set a personal alarm charm instead."

He watched her start piling up her books to take them with her, and he immediately came over to help her pick them up. However, he started laughing when he picked up the first one. It was _The Tales of Beetle the Bard_. Some of the other books were about protective charms and potions, but the others were about the Hogwarts founders and one about ancient pure-blood lines. "I thought you had forgotten about looking up stuff about the line of Peverell. I suppose I should just tell you all about it now anyway. You could've just reminded me, Lils."

Lily rolled her eyes, but she smiled at him. "I was having fun looking stuff up anyway, even if everything I find seems to be ridiculous or only one or two sentences that tell me absolutely nothing. Not to mention that your great-grandfather has been teasing me all about it while I've been in here this evening."

James chuckled and glanced over at his great-grandfather's portrait, who was smiling back at him with the familiar Potter smirk, while his great-grandmother's portrait was shaking her head with a tiny smile, probably wondering why she married into the Potter family in the first place. "He's just trying to give you a hard time. None of the portraits can speak about that to someone not in the family, and considering you'll be family in a week, he's just messing with your head. I'll tell you about it, although I'm interested in whatever you have found already because I haven't looked up anything new myself since my Dad told me everything a few years back."

Lily was amused as she watched James shoot his great-grandfather a playful glare only to get a wink in return. "Well, come on then. You can tell me while I take care of Remus' potion."

He followed her out of the library, carrying her potions books and leaving all of the other stuff in the library. He gave her a mysterious smile. "So what have you found?"

Lily gave him a frustrated look, although her green eyes were twinkling. "Surprisingly little. The most I found was about the three Peverell brothers and their supposed connection to that silly wizarding fairy tale, which I've now read about a hundred times without yielding any new information from it. Then, there was something about Gryffindor and Slytherin, but it was mostly just saying that there was an unknown connection. Pretty much all of the books about the founders never mention the name Peverell at all. The name Potter was never mentioned at all in those texts either so I haven't even found the connection between the Peverell and Potter lines."

James chuckled. "Which books did you find the sentences tying the line of Peverell into Gryffindor and Slytherin?"

She pointed to a spot on the potions drawing table for him to set her books as she went over to Remus' potion with a sigh. "An old pure-blood ancestry book at Hogwarts that I found hidden in the Restricted Section. And then there was one sentence in a book about Gryffindor that I had borrowed from Dumbledore a while back."

James noticed her eyes scanning over a bunch of notes and a potions text that was lying open next to the weird, steaming potion that she was now standing in front of. He was amused as he looked her over carefully. "Can you do that and listen to me at the same time?"

Her green eyes shot up, slightly pained. He knew she really wanted to hear what he had to say, but she had to do the potion stuff right now. "Ummm…"

James just chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, I'll wait."

She gave him a pretty smile and watched as he conjured himself a cozy armchair. He plopped down into it after grabbing one of the charms texts she had left in here from before. She really loved that about him. She shook her head as she went back to Remus' potion. Her curiosity over the whole Peverell line was now driving her crazy so she resolved to finish this up quickly.

She had been messing with Remus' potion for sometime now, using whatever Remus' comments were as the deciding factor to scrap or include ingredients, or to lessen or increase ingredients. However, one thing had finally become clear during his last transformation: whatever she had done the last time had decreased the pain of the transformation just a little. This was great, but she had added three new ingredients for that potion, and she really had no idea which one had done the change. She couldn't increase all three because the potion would be poisonous then. She had already made the base potion over the last two days, which combined elements of the Draught of Peace, a Strengthening Solution, and a Pepper-up potion. Now, she was looking at the Aconite, Glumbumble Treacle, and Jobberknoll feathers sitting in front of her. She sighed and looked at the three items a bit distressed. She had three minutes or so to add these ingredients. She needed to make a decision about which one she would test as being the most important. James must've noticed her indecision as his voice called out softly and a bit concerned, "What is it, love?"

Lily sighed again and gave him a small smile. "Aconite, Glumbumble Treacle, or Jobberknoll feathers. You pick."

James' brow furrowed. "You want my opinion about a potion? Are you feeling ok?"

Lily gestured to the ingredients, rolling her eyes slightly. "You're not completely useless at potions, you know. Whenever you pay attention, you make your potions correctly. Now, one of the three is more important than the others because it helps to decrease his pain level, even though I will continue to use all three. I just don't know which one is more important so we're just going to have to guess for this month. I have two minutes now to decide."

James frowned. "Well, if what I remember is right, the feathers are best for truth and memory, the treacle is best for hysteria, and Aconite is…" His eyes widened as he looked at her a bit shocked. "That's related to Wolfsbane. That stuff is highly poisonous, and you're feeding it to Remus?"

Lily chuckled weakly. "In small doses, it's fine. It'll take a lot to kill Remus anyway. He _is_ a werewolf, which makes him capable of taking higher doses than the rest of us. Now, pick already. One minute."

James gave her a troubled glance. "After seeing Remus transform more than a few times, try the treacle. If it's not that, I'm sad to say I think it's the Aconite."

Lily crinkled her nose, agreeing with his assessment. "Yeah, ok."

She quickly measured off the remaining three ingredients with practiced ease and lowered them into the potion. She stirred the concoction counterclockwise for the most part, throwing in a clockwise stir here and there. The potion began to hiss for a few seconds before a swirling steam began to rise very slowly from the bowl. Lily eyed the result curiously, jotting down a few things in her notes. She used her wand to lower the heat before waving the wand around at herself to set a personal alarm charm for tomorrow at noon. She would then take the potion over to Remus so he had it for the full moon in about 10 days or so. The potion was still taking three days to make. If she had to mess with the amounts of Aconite, or worse yet, try actual Wolfsbane or something like Runespoor eggs (if she could find them) to possibly help him remember things during the full moon, she was going to have to allot more time to make the potion.

She sighed as she cleaned up a bit before looking over to her fiancée expectantly. "So?"

James grinned at her before reaching out to place her charms text back on the table and then pulling her onto his lap. He waved his wand around them a few times, much to her amusement. "You _do_ realize that we are the only ones in the house, right?"

James shrugged, giving her a half-smile. "Sirius might drop by to come get me early or something, and secrecy is essential. Now, the line of Peverell. I'm surprised you found anything about it at all really. We've tried really hard to eradicate the name from most history texts, striving for the utmost secrecy. I suppose the only thing people will never let go of is the connection to _The Tale of the Three Brothers_, but as I will tell you, it's a mere exaggeration of truth just as are all urban legends and fairy tales."

Lily was intrigued. "So that fairy tale _was_ real in some aspects?"

James nodded slightly. "Well, not the whole talking to Death part. There were three Peverell brothers: Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus. Now, Antioch, the eldest, was supposedly quite the dueler, leading to that arrogance which you despise, but also to his death. He was overconfident, bragged about his abilities, and eventually was killed in his sleep. The killer took his wand, leading to folklore. If you remember going to see Ollivander for buying your wand, it is said that a wand holds a key to the wizard or witch to whom it belongs' power. There used to be a general consensus that winning a duel won you the wand of the loser, and this was considered a top prize. Well, something like that… Anyway, he died childless and alone."

He paused before continuing, "Now, Cadmus, the middle son, supposedly wanted to marry this girl he had met when he was a young boy, but she eventually took ill and died before they reached engagement status. He reluctantly married another, but was never truly happy. He spent all of his time in his room, driven mad by the supposed ghost of his past lover who he claimed to have brought back to life by a magical stone he had made. However, no one else could see her. The stone was made into a ring by his only son, which he supposedly continued to wear in remembrance of his father. I am unfamiliar with the rest of his descendants, except for one."

Lily eyed him curiously when he stopped talking and looked troubled. "Who was descended from that line then? I'm assuming it wasn't your family."

James sighed and shook his head. "No, mine has descended from Ignotus' line. Cadmus' line eventually led to Salazar Slytherin."

Lily's green eyes widened. "Really?"

James nodded. "Yes. Interesting, sure, but there's more. Now, Ignotus, the youngest brother, developed the first ever invisibility cloak from the woven hairs of Demiguise. He hid this development from others, earning his reputation of having a unique 'cloak of invisibility that shielded him from Death.' Technically, he was only keeping it private because he was still perfecting it. Over the years, the basic premise on how to make one was sold to prospective wizarding manufacturers, but the skill and time required to make one is still costly and difficult. It's now been tradition in the Potter family to give one to the first born when they reach Hogwarts age. We also have additional family charms and wards to place on the invisibility cloaks which make them longer-lasting and impenetrable for the most part. Anyway, he obviously lived the happiest life out of the three brothers, having a proper family with no real troubles."

Lily's brow furrowed. "So what's with the Gryffindor connection then? And Slytherin is just a rather distant cousin?"

James frowned. "Not horrendously distant actually. As time went by, families married into other families, but then things came full circle. Eventually, the Ignotus Peverell line was once again direct first cousins with the Slytherin family who were descended from the Cadmus Peverell line when Slytherin was at Hogwarts."

Lily wasn't sure where he was going with this. "Well, Slytherin and the founders lived a thousand years ago. That still makes things pretty distant. Besides, you've told me yourself that your family has been in Gryffindor for generations."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's just weird to be related to Slytherin, even distantly. Anyway, you wanted to know about the Gryffindor connection. You know, of course, about the falling out of Slytherin with the other founders, but particularly Gryffindor, right?"

She smiled. "Well, everyone knows that it happened, but no one knows the true story behind it."

James matched her grin. "Well, you are the lucky one who gets to find out. Now, Gryffindor apparently married a rather beautiful woman named Violet by winning her hand in marriage. He came back to Hogwarts with his new wife, and they eventually had identical twin girls, Elise and Elizabeth. As the story goes, from the moment Gryffindor brought home his new wife, Slytherin retreated into angry solitude. There was clearly jealousy and a growing hatred involved. He began to instigate quarrels over petty details that hadn't bothered him before, like that of pure-blood superiority and such. He also began speaking more and more in Parseltongue. Anyway, when Elise and Elizabeth finally reached 15 and it was ok for suitors or whatever to court them, Slytherin's first cousin and my ancestor, Robert Peverell, courted Elizabeth. This would have been fine, but because of Slytherin's actions over the last 15 or so years, Gryffindor was not so sure. He called for Slytherin, and Slytherin came to meet with him, his family, and my ancestor. Once they were all in a room together, things weren't looking so great."

Lily didn't like the look on his face. "What happened?"

James sighed. "Slytherin lost it. He didn't want his family marrying into the Gryffindor family line. He started spouting off in Parseltongue because my ancestor could understand him. Robert tried to make peace, but Slytherin whipped out his wand and aimed for Gryffindor, shouting about how Gryffindor had everything and all he had wanted was to be loved by someone like Violet. It seemed ridiculous because it wasn't like Slytherin didn't have a wife of his own at that point; all men in powerful positions were married and had families during that time. Anyway, there was rapid spell fire exchange, ultimately ending with Elise's death due to a stray Killing Curse, which obviously came from Slytherin, since he had been the only one using that curse."

Lily had her hands over her mouth in shock. She had not been expecting this. "Oh my God. So then Slytherin left."

James nodded grimly. "Yup. He left and swore that he would have his revenge. There is still the legend of the Chamber of Secrets within the castle, which supposedly was opened in the 1940's even though no one has been able to find the entrance. There are also other spells that Slytherin had in the castle that may still affect things, like the attitude of the Slytherins in general. Who knows really."

Lily shook her head, almost disapprovingly. "So what happened with your ancestor?"

James smiled mischievously. "He renounced all that was Slytherin about him and allowed Gryffindor to magically lock away his ability as a Parselmouth. To further make a showing of his detachment of all that he was related, he forever altered his name from Peverell to Potter." He paused and waved his wand around, causing the Potter crest to appear in the air. He pointed to it before continuing, "Now, this is the Potter crest, but the Peverell crest is exactly the same except for one small detail."

She looked puzzled for a moment, but when he waved his wand once more, there was a clear change to the Potter crest. The crossing wands behind the letter P now had two snakes crawling along them. She tilted her head, understanding completely. "A fifth and central animal of the family line— snakes because of the Parseltongue."

He nodded, waving the image away. "Yup. Now, this showing seemed to be enough, and Gryffindor granted him permission to marry Elizabeth."

Lily's green eyes sparkled. "So you're a descendant of Gryffindor. That's why you're family has been in Gryffindor for generations. That also explains why there is no documentation about your family or anything about Peverell. Gryffindor and your ancestor would have wanted to keep everything about familial connections quiet so they probably compiled all possible information and hid it."

James kissed her lips gently. "Exactly. All of that information is actually hidden in the room with the lion symbol in the East Wing that I showed you a while back. My Dad finally told me about that room and how to get into it over the summer. I've only been in there once just to look around. There's a really old family tree tapestry in there and lots of books and notes too. I suppose the more recent family line information is also in the Potter study. That's where I had looked to check over some things for Dumbledore."

Lily nodded, her lips giving him a teasing smile. "That's amazing. I really have no idea how all of this has been kept quiet. For someone who was such a loud mouth at Hogwarts, you sure can keep your secrets."

He laughed, poking her in her sides. "You enjoy teasing me too much. I should be worried."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "Nah. I love you for some reason. I'm not going anywhere."

James nuzzled her nose. "I know. I would have to come find you and bring you back otherwise." She giggled as he pulled her into a hug, but he just continued, whispering in her ear, "I love you too, beautiful."

She turned her head to kiss him softly, remaining close to him before saying reluctantly, "You should go get ready or Sirius will come and drag you away from me."

James sighed. "Yeah, I guess. They're going to make me take so many shots. It's so not fair."

Lily gave him a look, curious. "What do you mean?"

He looked sheepish. "Apparently, every time I mention you or talk about you, I'm going to have to take a shot. They're going to trick me into it at first, but by the time I've had more than a few shots, they won't have to trick me anymore because I'll be drunk and want to talk about you anyway."

Lily laughed. "Well, considering I knew they would be mean to you in that respect and probably will steal your hangover potion in the morning, I hid an extra one in a secret compartment in your right shoe. Just say 'Aperio,' and you should be able to grab the potion."

He chuckled, his hazel eyes twinkling with mischief. "You are the best, Lils. I love it that you are secretly just as devious as I am."

She laughed as he lifted the both of them out of the seat before setting her gently on the ground. He leaned down and gave her one more kiss. "I love you. I'll see you sometime in the morning…or afternoon, depending on when I wake up."

She watched him walk away with a smile. "Love you too. Bye, James."


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32 – Keeping It Simple

Lily was nervous, although she had no real reason to be. She took yet another glance in the mirror to evaluate her appearance once more. The beautiful white satin strapless dress was gorgeous and fit her perfectly. She was, of course, wearing her lily pendant, and it glistened against her pale skin. Her make-up was light, the pale green eyeshadow making her green eyes stand out prettily. She had decided to just leave her hair down, only curling the bottom of it softly and pulling some of it out of her face with an old barrette she had found lying around in one of the extra bedrooms here at the Manor. She knew James loved her hair down. She had opted out of wearing a veil, considering she thought they looked ridiculous and were a bit old-fashioned.

She twirled self-consciously, still nervous as she continued to look in the mirror. She was interrupted by a loud snort to her right. She turned immediately to see Christina with her hands on her hips looking at her with a smirk. "Will you stop that already? You look so gorgeous, Lily. And don't be nervous."

Lily sighed, but smiled slightly. "I'm not nervous."

Lauren gave her a look. "Liar."

Lily grumbled to herself, but Lauren just waved her off. "Why are you nervous anyway? James would marry you if you were wearing pajamas. I bet he's worse than you are though."

Shelley laughed. "Why would _James Potter_ be nervous?"

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Please. As much as he plays it off that he is Mr. Confident, he's not. Right, Lily?"

Lily nodded. "It depends on the situation for him. And really, it's not exactly 'nervous.' That's one word to describe it I guess, but it's more like…anxious…or excited. I mean, there's this huge build-up and all the planning and now we're waiting and only minutes away. Does that make any sense?"

Christina seemed to understand. "I think I know what you mean, but really, it's going to be fun. The Order is here, some of our families, and that's about it. No one you really need to impress, not that I don't still think you look utterly amazing. If James hadn't already seen you all dressed up before, let alone naked, then I would expect a mild heart attack at him seeing you right now."

Lily rolled her eyes playfully while the girls all giggled over Christina's comments. Lily eyed her three best girlfriends. They were looking equally beautiful today. The pale mint green dresses turned out gorgeous. Vespa had done an amazing job. Each of the girls had pulled their hair up into some French twists with a few strands hanging out here and there and their make-up was done similar to her own. "Thanks. You all look beautiful too, you know. Have the boys seen you yet?"

Lauren laughed, her hazel eyes twinkling. "Yeah. Sirius fell off of his chair with a look of shock on his face when he saw Christina walk past where they were. The boys all started laughing at him as the two of us waved innocently back at them. It was hilarious."

Lily chuckled. "I would've loved to get a picture of that. I'll have to have James get me a picture using a pensieve again or something."

Christina started smiling wickedly. "Just wait. You did give me that potion…"

Lily nodded, although she started laughing too much to give her a proper response. Lauren looked like she had an idea of what was going on, but Shelley was lost. "What potion?"

Lily smiled evilly when she finally stopped laughing. "The trust serum I used to get back at James... Christina wanted to use it today on Sirius. It's going to be so funny."

Lauren started giggling. "Oh, this is going to be classic."

The girls continued to giggle a bit over how Sirius will react, but Lily looked over at the clock for the millionth time that afternoon. Christina frowned at her when she noticed. "Why do you keep doing that? We still have some time yet, but you've been looking at it a lot."

Lily sighed, watching the secondhand tick away. It was about 40 seconds away from being 3:30pm. She glanced at Christina and the girls who were now all watching her, but just held up her hand. 25 seconds. Her eyes turned to the doorway and then returned to the clock. 15 seconds. 5 seconds. Finally, there was a flash of light in the doorway, but all that was there was a hairbrush with a note attached to it. Lily frowned, her green eyes downcast. Christina sighed, obviously knowing exactly what was going on. She bent down and picked up the hairbrush and letter before handing the letter over to Lily.

Lily slowly opened up the letter, grateful that Christina had pulled the other two girls into a conversation about the wedding ceremony that would start soon. She wished the letter had been her sister, but at the same time, maybe she should be happy that she had gotten a response at all.

_Lily-_

_I thank you for your invitation. I was rather surprised to get it, considering you have both only been engaged for a short time. I still feel you are much too young to be getting married at all, let alone to that boy of yours. If you think he can take care of you, then so be it, but do not expect me to help you. Since I do not approve and we both have different interests and expectations, I have chosen not to come. I hope the both of you are happy together anyway. _

_I also would like to apologize for some of the things I have said to you, considering you already have apologized to me in your letter and invitation. Let us consider ourselves, once again, tolerant of the other. After all, you're right— we are sisters and the only family the other really has left anymore. I would not be opposed to hearing about your life, but I still am vehemently against having your abnormality around me._

_-Pet_

Lily sighed softly to herself. At least, her sister wasn't angry with her anymore. This was good news. Petunia didn't really know anything about her life or her and James as a couple so none of what she had said about all that really mattered to her. She turned back to the girls who were watching her warily and gave them a smile. It was time to forget about all of that drama. Although she was incredibly sad that her father wouldn't be here to walk with her down the aisle and her mother wouldn't be sitting in the front row crying like she had done for Petunia, she felt ready. James made her incredibly happy, and her parents had approved. Maybe they were still watching over her right now. "So, is it about time I got married?"

Christina chuckled, giving her a quick hug. "Just let me make sure everything is good."

James ran a hand through his messy, uncontrollable hair for the eighth time in the last five minutes. He didn't know why he was a bit nervous. He had also begun pulling at his tie already, and their wedding hadn't even started yet. He turned to Sirius, a grin stretching across his face when he saw his best mate doing the same exact thing at that moment. He chuckled. "Do you feel like your back at school too?"

Sirius nodded solemnly, loosening his tie more than necessary. That was until it was suddenly tightened back the way it should be. James started laughing when Sirius yelped at the sudden magic use. Remus just gave them both looks with his wand out in a mildly threatening manner. "The wedding is going to start soon. Now, quit messing with your dress robes…well, actually they really are just muggle suits, if you want to get technical. Sure, Madam Malkin made them and all, but…"

James shrugged, still a bit fidgety. "I hate male dress robes. They make us look like we're trying to pretend to be that muggle vampire guy."

Remus raised an eyebrow, amused. "Count Dracula?"

James nodded, and Sirius barked out a laugh. "So _that's_ why you always wear muggle suits all the time! You just have that one black dress robe that you throw over them if you need to."

James rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. He was marrying Lily. Nothing could bring him down today. "What of it? I used to laugh at you all the time when we were kids for running around in your dress robes pretending you _were_ a vampire, Padfoot."

Remus snickered, but Peter looked at Sirius, not understanding and a bit nervous. "Why'd you do that? Vampires are scary."

Sirius clamped a hand on his back, his grey eyes full of mischief. "Because Pete, vampires are the only thing that scares the life out of pure-blood aristocrats, even though they say they're not scared of them."

James straightened up when he saw people starting to move to the seats they had conjured up. "Is everything starting?"

Remus gazed around a bit as well and noticed Dumbledore heading over towards them. He was going to be presiding over the ceremony so they didn't have to ask someone from the Ministry to come down for it. Being a part of the Wizengamot had some advantages. "Looks like."

James turned to Sirius, who was looking back at him in mock seriousness. James grinned at him, his eyebrows raised. "Final minutes. You got the rings?"

Sirius felt his front pocket and nodded with a proud smile. "Check."

James looked impressed. He grinned sneakily and tried to throw him for a loop. "Lily's wand?"

For a moment, Sirius looked panicked, but he ultimately relaxed with a relieved smile. "Christina is carrying it with her bouquet, Prongs."

Remus interrupted, looking Sirius over carefully, "Your wand?"

Sirius' face was confused as he pulled it out of his sleeve. "What do you mean? It's right…HEY!"

Remus smirked at him, pocketing Sirius' wand. "Nope. No pranks until after Lily has her moment, Padfoot."

Sirius continued to mumble about girls and weddings before turning away and pouting slightly. Dumbledore had finally reached them at this point. He smiled over their antics. "Boys, are we ready to begin?"

James nodded, pulling the pouting Sirius along with him as they started heading toward the front of the crowd. "Yup. I've been ready since fifth year actually. Well, maybe sixth. That's when I first proposed anyway."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I think that earned you two blows to the stomach."

Remus laughed from behind them. "Lower actually."

James snickered. "She packs quite a punch, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

They all made their way up past the two small aisles of conjured chairs so they were standing up front. James elbowed Sirius, trying to pull him out of his slight disappointment. "Cheer up. It's not the end of the world. I'm sure you plan on doing at least one thing at some point, but wait until after the ceremony. I'll be too distracted by Lily's beauty to notice anything right now anyway."

Sirius chuckled. "That's ok. I get to stare at Christina."

James grinned at that. As much as Sirius and Christina played their relationship off as only a little more than casual, the two of them, at least from James' perspective, were fairly serious about each other. It was the first time that James had ever seen Sirius want to be with a girl just for the sake of being in her company. It was most certainly more than physical attraction, which had usually been the only factor of Sirius' other many flings over the last few years.

However, his attention was easily diverted when familiar music began to play. He turned to see Lauren appear out of nowhere, considering there was a sort of concealment charm placed along the back row of chairs to hide the girls from view. He had to hand it to Lily because the dresses that she had made for the girls were beautiful. He winked at Lauren when she finally reached the front. She just rolled her eyes playfully back at him. Shelley came next, and soon after, Christina. James watched Sirius straighten up a bit at seeing her.

James turned back to where Lily would appear and appear she did. He grinned instantly. He had never seen her look so beautiful. She smiled back at him when she met his eyes, and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest as she made her way up to the front. She was dressed that way for him. She was smiling at him. She was in love with him. He doubted that anything would make him happier than he was at that very moment.

When she was finally standing in front of him, she took a moment to hand her bouquet of white roses over to Christina before turning back to him, her radiant smile still on her face. He took both of her hands and kissed them gently before he heard Dumbledore begin to speak and start the ceremony.

James tried to pay attention to what Dumbledore was saying, but he was a bit distracted by Lily looking the way she did. He could tell Lily was a bit distracted throughout the ceremony too though. The two of them had always been able to tell what the other was thinking for the most part, and Lily's pretty green eyes were mirroring his sentiments about long-winded weddings being silly. They exchanged their vows, with James' heart giving a little flip at Lily actually saying the words, 'I do.' Sirius handed them their rings, and they each placed their rings on the hand of the other. He mentally reminded himself to read what she had engraved onto it later. Christina handed Lily her wand so James promptly removed his from his sleeve. They both held their wands against the other's and recited the Latin phrase they had learned just a few days prior, "Mi cor habes ad infinitum. Te semper amabo."

And with that, a jet of white light was released as it swarmed in and around the two of them, essentially binding the both of them together for life. As the jet of light vanished, Dumbledore's blue eyes were twinkling as he finally said the words that James had been longing to hear, "And you may now kiss the bride."

James gave Lily a tiny grin as he pulled her closer to him and leaned down to kiss her softly. He didn't linger too long, considering their audience, but when he did finally pull his lips away amongst Sirius whooping and everyone cheering, he made sure to whisper over into her ear, "You look beautiful, Mrs. Potter."

Lily blushed at that, but she was smiling and her green eyes were shining. "You don't look so bad yourself, Mr. Potter."

They eventually began to make their rounds together, essentially being congratulated, taking lots of pictures, and thanking people for coming. After a good hour or so, people began to settle down into the tables that had been set up for dinner. His house elves had completely outdone themselves, and he had been sure to tell them so. They had just waved him off, saying that nothing less than the best was required for 'Master's wedding with the new Miss.' Lily had laughed at that, teasing him mercilessly, not that he had minded all that much.

James pulled Lily over to the main round table and sat down, pulling her onto his lap rather than having her in her own chair next to him. He hadn't seen her or been near her for almost 36 hours now, considering she had spent the night over at Christina's flat the night before and they had had to work all day yesterday. Lily didn't seem to mind though, as she began to pick at some of the food on his plate rather than her own. Christina gave them both an amused look, but pulled her and Sirius' champagne glasses off the table. "Sirius, I'm going to get us some drinks so we can toast to the new bride and groom."

Sirius was in the middle of a discussion with Pete about pure-blood lines and vampires so he waved her off saying 'sure, sure' with a smile. Lily had grinned a bit evilly at this, causing Remus to raise his eyebrows a bit, but James had pulled Lily's attention away by whispering in her ear about something. It didn't take long for Christina to return, handing Sirius his glass and then tinkling her own with a spoon from the table to get everyone's attention. She smiled as everyone turned to face her. "It's about time for the Best Man and Maid of Honor to say a few words… Sirius?"

Sirius wiggled his eyebrows wickedly. "Thanks, love."

He turned to Lily and James; both were smiling at him, although Lily looked a bit wary about whatever he was going to say. He smirked at that. "Now, I would just like to say that the honor of calling Red 'Mrs. Potter' for the first time has already been done by me in fifth year. I think that earned me a few hexes and James a few more, but it was worth it."

Lily started giggling at that while James shook his head at the memory, although he was still smiling. Sirius just grinned and continued, "Ok, so these speeches are supposed to tell the story of when I first recognized that it was love or whatnot so I'll tell you when I first knew James was truly in love with Red."

He paused for dramatic effect, relishing in the fact that even James and Lily didn't seem to know what particular time he was referring to. "It was in sixth year, and I know everyone here is thinking 'yeah right, she still hated him then,' but this is about when James was truly in love, not Red. Yeah, so he had just asked her out in the courtyard in a grandiose, ridiculous way by reciting some lame ass Shakespearean poetry in front of a crowd of students. Everyone was giggling like mad at the two of them, and I don't think I have ever seen Red's face turn that red before. She wasn't exactly angry initially, more embarrassed, considering James never minded making a fool of himself but Red has always had some decorum. Anyway, she started ranting and raving with words that I don't really remember because I was laughing my ass off at the time. James said something stupid like usual in response, which caused Red to get even more upset— so upset in fact that she actually hexed him backwards and sideways. Now, if any of you have ever seen Red hexing someone, it's definitely quite the show. By the time she was finished with him and had run away to get away from the now dispersing, yet still laughing crowd, I turned to look over at James. He was lying awkwardly on the ground from being thrown in the air, his hair was messier than usual, his glasses were skewed, and he was rubbing his arm like it was bothering him, BUT he was still looking in the direction Red had run off to with a lovesick expression on his face. He turned to me, still awestruck, and said, 'Merlin, I love her.' That's when I knew it was true love."

Everyone was laughing now. James looked a bit sheepish, although he was still grinning like that same lovesick prat he had been back then. Lily was chuckling, but she kissed James on the cheek anyway. Sirius tilted his head knowingly. "I knew she would come around one day, even though Remus and Peter occasionally doubted it. So, let me hand things over to my better half to say a few words before we finish the toast."

Sirius gently urged Christina in front of him where she smiled at the crowd. "I suppose I should now say when I knew Lily had finally fallen for James, but Lily is a rather private person and doesn't share anything until the last minute. I found out they were finally dating the day they actually started dating. Go figure."

Everyone chuckled at this. Christina raised her eyebrows at Lily, who was now blushing slightly. She continued, "Well, looking back, I think I should have predicted it. No one can dispute the fact that James infuriated Lily beyond all reasonableness. However, he was the only one besides her sister to ever really do so. Lily would get so upset that sometimes the only thing I would really hear from her was 'Potter this' and 'Potter that.' Anyone else who gave her trouble, she would be able to brush them off without letting it consume her thoughts or her life. This alone should have been reason enough to suggest that there might have been something underneath the surface."

Christina smiled at her best mate. "I think I knew it was true love when they finally began dating. It was like the moment had been built up through their constant cat and mouse game over the years so that when they were finally together, I knew there was no other possible ending other than the happy one we see now. So, everyone raise your glasses and toast to the bride and groom. To James and Lily!"

Everyone echoed their sentiments, and James kissed Lily on her cheek as the two of them laughed together about the whole thing. Christina grinned evilly while she took her sip of champagne as she watched Sirius down his whole glass in one gulp. She met Lily's eyes and gave her a playful wink. As she sat back down with Sirius, she groaned audibly which caused everyone to look over at her. "Oh Sirius, pick up my napkin for me? It must've fallen when I stood up. If I bend over in this dress, I think I might fall out of it."

Sirius gave her a cheeky grin, but picked up the napkin off the ground and handed it to her. "I wouldn't mind that at all, love."

As soon as Christina had the napkin in her grasp, Lily broke out in giggles. She covered her mouth to stop them, but she couldn't. Sirius looked at her funny, but then Shelley and Lauren started giggling too. He turned to his girlfriend, who was smiling triumphantly back at him with a certain gleam in her pretty blue eyes, and he had no idea what was going on. He turned to James, who was looking back and forth at all of the girls similarly, but there seemed to be a light dawning on his face of recognition. James' brow furrowed before he began to smile slightly as he turned to ask Lily skeptically, "Did you just…"

When Lily nodded, still giggling, James started to laugh too. Sirius still didn't understand and turned to Remus and Peter, who were looking as perplexed as he was. "Ok, do either of you two know what's going on?"

Both boys shook their heads, but then Christina leaned over and kissed his cheek, smiling rather mischievously. "Sirius, I think you are going to be quite the gentleman this evening."

Suddenly, it hit him like a ton of bricks. She had gotten his champagne for him. He had just downed the whole thing. He picked up her napkin because she had asked…no, she hadn't asked…she had ordered him to. His face paled. "You didn't."

Christina simply nodded as she bit her lip to keep from laughing about it. "Oh, I did."

Sirius began gawking at a particular redhead. This had her written all over it. "RED! How could you!"

Lily had managed to control her giggles for the most part and just smiled cheekily at him. "Well, James and I agreed when I did it to him that it might be good for you once you found the right lady…"

His astonished gaze turned to his best mate. "Prongs! You were in on this too?"

James was still laughing a bit, but he shook his head. "No. This one is definitely all Lily and Christina, mate."

He turned to his girlfriend pitifully, hoping for some sympathy as that was all he could hope for at this point. "I treat you wonderfully, Chrissy."

Christina chuckled, patting him on his cheek. "I know, but you had this coming, love. Lily and I managed to prank the notorious Sirius Black. If that wasn't worth it, then I don't know what is."

Sirius started grumbling to himself, but Christina just giggled, sipping her champagne. "Stop grumbling, Sirius."

Sirius immediately stopped, and his face turned red by his forced compliance. Everyone at the table began to laugh at him. There wasn't much that embarrassed him, but outwardly being chivalrous or obedient for a girl in public, particularly one he cared about, was definitely something he didn't exactly feel comfortable with. James had always been more comfortable with being outlandishly affectionate or more chivalrous in front of other people. He started sipping his new glass of champagne that had been refilled by the house elves. Apparently, the evening was going to be rather eventful.

Lily was thoroughly enjoying her wedding day. She had loved every minute of being called Mrs. Potter, something she had never thought she would ever like in the past. There were no real words to express how happy she was. The rest of the evening had passed with laughter, jokes, dancing, cake, and tons of pictures that she couldn't wait to look through.

She had danced mainly with James for the evening, although she had been pulled around by the rest of the Marauders, who all cheekily pointed out that James would get her all to himself for the next week on their honeymoon so they were entitled to him 'sharing her' for the wedding. Cutting their beautiful cake had been an experience, considering she had made a point to shove cake in James' face on purpose, but he had just rubbed his face into her neck, kissing her repeatedly and making her equally messy in response. It was a good thing they were able to use magic to clean themselves back up afterwards, although she hadn't been thinking about that before doing it in the first place.

Sirius had been the staple of the evening, considering he was under Christina's control for the most part. She hadn't really required him to do all that much because since he knew he was under the influence of the trust serum and she could make him do just about every chivalrous thing she could think of, he had decided to take it upon himself and preempt any order she may have by just doing it first— but he didn't just do random chivalrous things, he made them theatrical. Every time Christina had gotten up, he had made sure to grab her hand to 'help' her. He had stood up and pulled out her chair grandly whenever she returned to sit down. When he had dragged her onto the dance floor, he made a showing of dancing with her outlandishly. He spoke in random poetry to her and consistently called her his 'buttercup' or something so insanely amusing that everyone would end up laughing. Christina took it all in stride with her usual sarcastic smirk on her face, not really embarrassed about any of it. She had gotten used to Sirius' outgoing behavior and had never minded it. In fact, Lily was sure Christina actually found it rather endearing. This was why Lily knew they were perfect for each another. Lily also knew that Sirius was not all that great with being attentive and loving to a proper girlfriend in public, considering he had never really had a serious girlfriend before, and so his behavior was mainly to mask his embarrassment over being under the potion's influence in the first place. Only Sirius would become less embarrassed by being even more outrageous, but that was just how he was.

The Marauders also made sure there were items that could only be called 'party favors' for all of the guests. There had been random bursts of fireworks that would spout out from the tables by people accidentally triggering them by touching certain cutlery. James had whispered to her that it was a good thing that Potter Manor was hidden from the muggles or they may have gotten into trouble from the Ministry for having an elaborate light show that could have blown the statute of secrecy. Lily had just been happy that they hadn't pranked her or James specifically, which could only be attributed to Remus advising Sirius that it would not be wise for sake of her hexing him, Christina telling Sirius he couldn't (hehe), or James telling them all not to, for her sake in having a fun, happy, and relatively normal wedding.

Sirius, Remus, and Peter had also all decided to tell stories to any person that would listen about the many ways James had asked Lily out and failed miserably. Lily had thought James might not want them to do that, but he merely shrugged it off with a grin, not embarrassed in the least, and had said that some of it must've worked if he had got to be with her in the end. She had given him a good snog in response to that.

It was now late in the evening or early morning, and she had just finished dancing with Sirius. She smiled at the remaining Order members sitting and chatting at one of the tables. Dumbledore had gone back to Hogwarts a bit earlier, taking Lauren with him, but he had said that he would come back in the morning to close up Potter Manor for them so they could leave without worrying about it. Some of their other guests had started leaving, considering she and James had a portkey that would leave at 1am to go to some mystery location that he refused to tell anyone about. She supposed the secrecy was a good thing, but she couldn't help but be curious about where he had decided to take her. She knew that just being alone with him and away from everything for awhile was more than enough anyway. She was mulling over thoughts about her new husband (the word 'husband' alone made her feel inwardly giddy) and his possible plans for the two of them.

Suddenly, there was an arm around her waist and a soft, familiar male voice whispered near her ear, "What are you thinking about, beautiful?"

Lily smiled and turned to face James. "You."

He chuckled, but continued to hold her in his arms for no real reason. "That's cheesy."

She shrugged innocently. "You asked."

He grinned at her, rolling his eyes playfully. "I suppose. I talked with Sirius and he said that he would make sure he and Christina were the last to leave the Manor tonight. Oh, and the house elves ordered ME to leave everything to them to clean up. I feel like my authority has been diminished."

Lily smirked and couldn't resist the opening. "Isn't that everyday, sweetheart?"

He kissed her forehead, snickering. "I love you too, Lils. Come on, we should say goodbye."

The two of them said their goodbyes to everyone that was still there, taking care to roll their eyes playfully at every single one of them telling them to 'have fun' while they were away. It wasn't like everyone didn't know that the two of them had been living together for awhile now anyway. Christina and Sirius gave them both hugs (Sirius and James' hug had been manly, of course) before shooing them on their way. James led her inside toward the living room before giving her a quick kiss and saying, "I'll be right back."

She tilted her head as he began walking away. "Where are you going?"

He turned back towards her with a mischievous smile and nodded down the West Wing corridor. "I had to hide the portkey. Sirius would have messed with it otherwise."

She chuckled as she leaned against the back of the couch to wait. "Sounds like Sirius."

He nodded and laughed a bit as he made his way out of view. Lily looked around the room comfortably before her gaze strayed to her dress. She gently ran a hand over the soft material. She really did love it. It was sort of a shame you only wore something so beautiful once. She was lost in her thoughts when James returned, and she couldn't help but smile at him when she saw that he was giving her a grin that she only saw him give her. He showed her two shrunken items in his one hand. "You sure you packed everything in that bag you gave me?"

Lily nodded, smiling. "We _are_ magical, you know. The bag may have been small, but it would fit everything I own if I wanted it to."

He stood right in front of her, resting his weight on his hands which had been placed on either side of her along the couch she was already leaning on. "You are a dab hand at Charms, Lily love."

She ran a hand over his cheek. "How else would I have packed your bag for you?"

His hazel eyes traveled all over her features, and his lips curled into a content smile. "Did you read what I engraved on your ring yet?"

Lily was startled. She couldn't believe that she hadn't even thought to do that. "No, I completely forgot."

He kissed her lips gently, chuckling to himself. "That's ok. I forgot until a few minutes ago. I figured you had forgotten too, and we could read them together while we wait these last few minutes. You go first."

She gave him a look as he continued to smile, but she gently pulled off her wedding band to look at the interior of it, but when she did, she immediately started giggling. It read '_Will you go out with me, Evans?_' He smiled even wider at her as he watched her laugh, and when she finally sobered up some, she managed to say, "Charming, love. It goes along with mine though."

She gestured for him to look at his with a big grin on her face so he pulled his off to read it. He also started to laugh at his inscription. It read, '_You're my arrogant, big-headed prat._' He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her right up against him while nuzzling her neck and inhaling the sweet scent of her hair that he now got to smell everyday for the rest of his life. "I'm quite happy to be your arrogant, big-headed prat, Lily. I love you."

She smiled, quite satisfied as she thoroughly enjoyed being in James' strong arms at the moment. "I love you too, James."

They remained close like that for the next few minutes, with James running his hands gently over her back. She felt him kiss her collarbone softly before he eventually pulled away from her. He held out a coffee mug for her to grab onto, which she did. It didn't take long for the coffee mug to start glowing blue, and before she knew it, they were transported somewhere else. However, they didn't land in a place for secure portkeys, but rather in a gazebo in front of some hotel. She looked over at James in a scolding manner. "James! What about the muggles? People could have _seen_ us!"

James just chuckled and grabbed her hand, pulling her up towards the hotel. "Don't worry, Lils. I was here earlier and warded this area so no one would see us arrive. I didn't want anyone to know where we were going so I had to set everything up myself. If I had gotten a portkey from the Ministry, word may have gotten out, considering all the problems we've been having with Ministry information being leaked lately."

She looked at him a bit shocked. "You set up an illegal portkey? Are you out of your mind?"

He ran his other hand over the side of her face as he smiled. "Only for you, Lily love. Oh, and by the way, our last name is Reynolds while we're here."

Lily smirked as she let him lead her inside the rather beautiful hotel. She finally started to look around a bit and couldn't help but be in awe of wherever they were. The hotel was located on an oceanfront, which she could now see outside the completely glass entryway they had just come in. It looked to be evening time wherever they were, as the sun looked to be almost finished setting over the ocean, so there was a notable time change. The hotel was also gorgeous and had intricate carved pillars within the lobby along with a fountain that was constantly running with some of the clearest waters she had seen in a long time. An usher of some kind came up to them almost instantly with a smile, considering they were still dressed up in their wedding apparel. "Welcome to the Blue Waters Resort. Did you have any luggage you would like me to bring up to your room?"

James shook his head with a smile. "No, thank you. We had it sent in advance. We just need to check in."

Lily smiled at James, enjoying his effortless lying for once in her life. The usher gestured to where the check in area was located. James took a moment to check them in, and they were both congratulated on their marriage about a million times. When he finally managed to pull them into an elevator, he buried his face into her hair as he stood behind her with his arms around her which caused her to chuckle softly. "What's the matter, sweetheart?"

James grumbled into her neck. "That usher was making eyes at you while we were waiting at the check in."

Lily turned in his arms, her green eyes twinkling and her hands playing with his tie. "Are you jealous?"

James shook his head, grinning evilly. "Not really, considering you are staying in a suite with me…not to mention we just got married and all."

The elevator dinged so she backed up a bit so they could walk together towards their room. "Good. I was only looking at you anyway. So where are we?"

James smiled. "A tiny island called Tobago just above South America."

Lily's brow furrowed. "Never heard of it, but it's beautiful here."

He snickered. "Exactly what I thought when I found it, but you are much better to look at than the scenery."

She pushed at him lightly, but he just pulled her to him and lifted her up effortlessly which caused her to squirm a little. "James!"

He just laughed, holding her tighter. "You're really light, you know that?" He quickly looked around and upon finding no one else in the hallway, he wandlessly opened the door to the room in front of them with a small wave of his hand. "I love other countries that don't care about magic use."

He carried her through the doorway before gently putting her back down to let her look around more easily. If the downstairs had been beautiful, the room was even more so. The room was large and was complete with a bedroom area, sitting room, and a balcony with a view that was spectacular. She gave James a disapproving look. "James, you know I don't need all of this…"

He simply shrugged, running his hand through her soft red hair and smiling at her. "I know. I wanted to. Besides, we don't have to ever leave the room if you so choose."

He started laughing at his own naughty innuendo while she just looked amused before pouting back at him playfully. "But you like to look at me in a tiny bikini I thought..."

He pulled her close to him. "That I do."

Lily's next taunt seemed to fall flat as James began licking and kissing her neck as his hands ran slowly down her sides. She tightened her hands on his arms as he continued. She was somehow able to breathe out, "Are you trying to seduce me, Potter?"

He just chuckled in a rather sexy way, his breath on her neck causing her to shiver slightly. His words were soft and teasing, giving her butterflies in her stomach, "Very much so, Potter."

Well, he was doing a rather good job. She smiled over him calling her Potter, and when she felt his arms slink around her back in order to pull her flat up against his strong body, she redirected his lips to her own. Her hands found their way into his messy hair, and he had no qualms with deepening the kiss with his tongue in a way that made her lose her capacity to think straight. She loved snogging him. He made her feel like she was the only thing that mattered in the world, but what made it even better was that he actually thought that about her. She couldn't believe he had picked her, and she felt incredibly lucky.

She gently pulled at his suit jacket, and with neither one of them taking a moment to breathe, it was pulled off. Both sets of hands began wandering, and by the time Lily had been able to unbutton his shirt and loosen his tie, James was desperate to get her out of her dress, but didn't want to ruin it. He was finally able to figure out the clasp above the zipper in the back and unzipped the dress slowly as he felt Lily's soft hands running over his bare chest and stomach. He expected his hands to hit the bare skin of her back so he was a bit surprised when he felt something soft and lacey beneath his fingertips.

Lily pulled away from him just enough so she could slip out of her dress completely, and when she looked back up at James, his normally bright hazel eyes had darkened with a rather sexy, hungry look that made her heart race. If he had affected her before, it was nothing compared to what that look did to her insides. She looked down at the gorgeous white and pale blue corset and matching knickers set she had found when she had been shopping with Shelley and Christina. She knew it would be perfect to wear for tonight. When her green eyes met his once more, she tilted her head sweetly and asked in a teasing manner, "You like?"

James could barely think straight with Lily standing in front of him all scantily clad, particularly when she was toying with him like she was. He gently ran his hands over the soft material covering her stomach and accenting every beautiful curve she had as he stepped closer to her once more. He managed to grumble out a reply softly before he resumed kissing her, "I love…"

Lily smiled against his lips before losing herself within his touch. She pulled at the sides of his unbuttoned shirt, bringing his body right up against hers again. She was barely aware of the fact that they were moving, but then James was suddenly sitting on their bed and he had pulled her onto his lap without breaking their kiss. One of his hands tangled up into her hair while the other kept her body tightly against his as she straddled him. She tugged off his shirt and his tie, disrupting his hold on her. She then proceeded in attacking his neck and collarbone with soft kisses of her own.

His hands slid down to Lily's hips when he felt her start to grind against him lightly. She was driving him crazy at the moment. He groaned softly when he felt her tongue trail up towards his ear and he immediately began snogging her thoroughly. Keeping one hand on her hip, he let the other slide up her inner thigh gently where he made his way towards her tiny knickers. Her breath hitched while she was kissing him when he began touching her more intimately. He didn't hesitate in attempting to make her feel amazing. He loved every minute of doing that.

She broke their kiss with a soft moan as he continued to touch her. The more she squirmed against him, the tighter he would hold her. Her hands dug into his shoulders, and she wanted nothing more than to touch him and have him keep touching her. She felt his other hand run slowly up along her back in order to loosen the ties of her corset as his lips and tongue danced along her collarbone. She eventually let him slide the now loose corset over her head before pushing at him slightly. She grumbled softly, "You have too many clothes on…"

He just chuckled, pulling her gorgeous, almost naked body against his bare chest. He kissed her lips softly and then replied teasingly, "Do I?"

Lily merely nodded and pushed the both of them forward so James was now lying down with her on top of him. She carefully removed his glasses before she let her hands run all the way down his chest and stomach, leading her to undo his dress pants. Once she finished removing his clothes, she crawled back on top of him, kissing up his chest lightly with a smile. He gently pulled her down so he could kiss her insistently, and she had no problem with that.

James loved feeling her body against his. He let his hands wander all over her body, letting them explore and caress as much of her soft skin as possible. When her hands started to stroke him slowly, he groaned into her mouth and pulled her even closer to him. She made him crazy with her teasing, and it just made him want her more. He soon started pulling at the sides of her knickers so he could take them off. She let him, of course, but then continued to tease the hell out of him. He just smiled against her lips and resumed some of his own teasing, which caused her to moan softly. He knew the precise moment when she would give in, but then he remembered something. "Wait."

She pulled away from him slightly, curious, but he just ran a hand over her stomach slowly and she shivered over the wandless magic use. She looked at him with a smile, silently thanking him because she had forgotten about the charm, before she leaned back down and resumed kissing him. He met her kiss easily, not even missing a beat. After all the teasing and when she finally let him inside her, he groaned into her neck as she sighed in obvious pleasure. She continued to move slowly over him, torturing him profusely. Every small sigh she made was an assault on his senses.

He groaned some before he finally turned them both over and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Lily moaned into his mouth as he started moving over her, his actions making her body feel utterly amazing. James couldn't help moving more quickly when she tightened her legs around him and arched her back slightly against him. She broke their kiss, moaning his name softly and that about sent him over the edge. When he felt her body tremble some against his and she sighed in satisfaction, his body climaxed. He sighed into her neck, kissing her there softly as he reveled in feeling something so amazing.

She kissed his cheek as he shifted next to her and cleaned them up some with a wave of his hand. She didn't really release her hold on him though, pulling him close to her once again. She nuzzled his neck as his arm ran down her back affectionately. She was beyond content. "I love you."

He kissed her forehead and ran a hand through her beautiful red hair. "And I love you, Mrs. Potter."

She grinned into his neck at those words. It seemed unreal even though she was ridiculously happy over it. "You, of all people, are my husband."

He chuckled and poked her sides at her teasing. "Too late to back out now, Lily love. I'm not going to let you go. Ever."

She leaned up a bit to look into his warm hazel eyes, and she smiled at seeing him look back at her in such a loving way. "That's ok. I wouldn't want you to."

He kissed her lips briefly in response before he began pulling at the sheets so they could both get some rest. It might be late evening here on the island, but back home the sun would be rising in a short time. "Night, beautiful."

Lily made herself comfortable on James' chest before replying, "Night, James."

James woke up gradually and upon a blurry perusal of the room when he opened his eyes, he was able to tell he was in a rather nice hotel room. He smiled since everything that had happened the day before had actually been real. He had just married the love of his life. Lily Evans had actually become his wife. She was now Lily Potter. It felt weird to be this happy.

He quickly noted that Lily was not still in bed so he frowned slightly. It was odd that she hadn't stayed in bed with him, particularly since they had no agenda at all. That was until he heard the shower start to run. He smiled to himself, knowing that Lily hadn't removed her make-up last night and probably needed to feel clean instantly from the moment she awoke. She hated 'being gross' as she called it. He took a gander at the clock on the nightstand, squinting to read the bright green numbers. It was 7:08am. He realized that they had gone to bed rather early here so that wasn't as early as it sounded. They had gotten plenty of sleep.

He rolled over onto his stomach and closed his eyes once more, debating on whether or not he should join her. That took him all of two seconds. He was pretty sure she wouldn't mind. She was sometimes just as insatiable as he was. That made him smile.

With his mind made up, he quickly got up and walked into the large bathroom, casting the charm for him to see where he was going as he went. The bathroom was massive and the shower was an extra large stand-up enclosure that was sufficiently steamed up now that Lily had been in there for more than a few minutes. He smiled evilly and cast a silencing charm on the unit before opening it slightly and stepping inside. The interior of the shower told him that it must double as a steam room, considering its size and the fact that there was a wooden bench along the back wall. When his eyes finally rested on Lily and her amazingly beautiful little body as she stood under the hot water finishing up rinsing out her hair, he couldn't stop the sexy grin that crept across his face. Her red hair was considerably darker when it was wet, but the way it hung around her in loose tendrils still made her look beautiful. She had her eyes closed, but almost as if she could sense he was suddenly there, she opened them and the bright green seemed to sparkle under the water. She smiled at him cheekily. "I thought we've moved past staring, James."

He chuckled, but continued to watch her, starting to desire her in a way that would require more action than just staring. "I know, but I enjoy looking at you."

She shook her head as she rolled her eyes playfully. She closed her eyes again and ran her hands through her hair under the water some more. James took that moment to move around behind her, getting himself sufficiently wet under the hot water. He couldn't help but reach out and touch her hips to pull her body closer to him as he let his mouth latch onto her shoulder from behind. The recent smell of her shampoo was lingering in the air, making him more than a little distracted at the moment.

Lily sighed softly, her body unconsciously leaning back into him. She felt his fingers softly running up her sides, as his lips reached her ear to whisper amidst the sounds of falling water, "Good morning, Lils."

His lips immediately returned to her neck, with both of his arms coming around her from behind. Lily was decidedly aroused and was most definitely liking her morning so far. She tilted her head so he had further access as she barely replied, "Morning."

One of his hands crept downwards, ultimately resting on a particular spot that made her breath hitch, her breath quicken, and her heart race. His other arm tightened around her mid-section as she felt herself get a little weak-kneed by his actions. She moaned softly, her head resting even more so against him. He chuckled evilly near her ear, nipping at it lightly as he continued his actions ever so gently, seemingly enjoying the fact that her body was beginning to squirm against his.

Her hands tightened around his arm that was wrapped around her, considering she couldn't reach out to him with him behind her. With every prolonged moment, she wanted him more and more. She could feel his arousal behind her and his warm breath on her neck had increased in a way that made her know that every sound she had made was affecting him. She groaned impatiently before forcing his experienced fingers away from her as she turned around in his arms. She saw the hint of a smile on his face before his lips came crashing onto hers.

Her arms were immediately around his neck, and her hands buried in his now very wet, messy hair. Feeling her slick body slide up against his made him moan into her mouth. He let his arms wrap around her tightly, both of their bodies moving on their own accord. He felt his arms hit the wall of the shower so he unraveled his hold on Lily to run his hands all over the front of her body as she rested against the wall, his lips never leaving hers.

Lily couldn't keep her hands off of him. She loved James' body. His arms were incredibly strong due to his constant quidditch training. The rest of his body had always been toned too, although it was even more so now that he had been going through Auror training. She loved feeling his hands run over her body. He would follow her every curve, and her body always shivered slightly when he ran his somewhat calloused fingers slowly down her flat stomach. He tilted his head, his hands now buried in her red hair. His lips were insistent as he kissed her deeply, her meeting his efforts without pause.

He groaned into her mouth when he felt her hands slide around his back, her right leg sliding up against his in an effort to bring him closer to her. He let his hands drop down to her hips so he could hoist her up, and Lily's arms automatically moved up around his neck. The sudden shift in their positioning and the fact that James wasn't really paying attention to anything but kissing her caused him to be pleasantly surprised at feeling him slip inside of her unexpectedly. Lily's mouth came away from his as she moaned, "James…"

He leaned into her, reveling in the feeling of making love to her, and he couldn't resist being cheeky, "Yes, love?"

Lily looked at him, her pretty green eyes dark with desire as they were mere inches from his own. She whispered huskily, "Don't stop."

James knew there wasn't anything in the world that would stop him from continuing. He began to move slowly against her, groaning into her neck as her legs tightened around him. Lily leaned against the wall, her arms still resting tightly around his neck as she continued to murmur her satisfaction. The fact that the hot water was still raining down on top of them and that the whole shower was sufficiently steamed made her already hot and bothered body even more so. James' hands were now holding onto her hips as he guided them against him, making her body practically scream in pleasure.

He held onto her body tightly, so much so that he could feel every tremble she made as they made love. He loved every minute of it. Lily's sighs were driving him wild and her entire presence was so intoxicating that he felt his body release. It wasn't long before he heard Lily moan softly in his ear, her body shuddering against him in a very happy way. She continued to cling to him and he felt her lips kiss his neck softly before they were inches from his own. His hazel eyes twinkled with mischief as he smirked at his beautiful wife. "I suppose I can let you finish your shower now, love."

Lily giggled softly, kissing him lightly on the lips. "Sure, and then I want some breakfast. All this exercise makes me hungry."

He chuckled as he helped her down. "Me too. Then, we can go lay out in the sun and not worry about a thing."

Lily pushed some of his wet, dark hair out of his bright hazel eyes, which she loved to look into. "Sounds perfect."

They both continued showering, smiling and laughing together while being more relaxed than they had been since they had been at Hogwarts. Just being together was always enough for either of them to relax, but the added bonus of no worries or agenda for a full week made things especially appealing. Honeymoons were supposed to be blissful, and they both seemed to have silently agreed that theirs would be nothing but.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33 – First Blood and First Draw I

Lily hummed softly to herself as she made her way from the library back to the potions drawing room for the third time within the last couple of hours. It was awfully quiet within the manor when she was the only one home. It was a good thing she knew that she was completely safe or the situation would make her downright jumpy. The place was incredibly large, old, and creaked every so often. She would be relieved when Lauren was picked up this weekend for holiday break. She supposed it would be nice to have her face around here again anyway, if only for a little while.

James was currently out acting as 'Pierre.' She was worried that he wasn't back just yet, but Sirius had mentioned that he would be joining her husband somewhere in the middle of his little rendezvous with Evan Rosier. What she had heard about that man was nothing good so she was still not exactly comfortable with James willingly walking into that type of situation even if James had reassured her a hundred times that Rosier was one of the Death Eaters that had taken the most liking to 'Pierre.' She supposed she would never be completely comfortable with him doing things like this, but since he was going to be working as an Auror, she might as well accept that she might feel this way a lot. At least she knew that James could take care of himself. He was very talented. Sirius was also talented and would be near him during his meeting so she really needed to stop worrying.

She furrowed her brow as she tended to Remus' potion which looked particularly nasty this month due to her recent changes involving more Aconite. She felt bad because she knew that the potion was going to taste awful and there was nothing she could do to remedy it. Every trick she knew would render the potion useless. She slowly added in a few tea leaves in incrementally as required. She figured that they would help alleviate the nausea that was sure to develop from drinking the potion. Remus had to keep it down or he would be stuck with nothing.

As soon as she finished up, she went back to the library, leaving the door open a crack this time so she could hear when James returned. The library, for the most part, had become her office or sanctuary of sorts. James, although he truly didn't mind in the least, had been teasing her about it, saying that he found it utterly hilarious that out of all the many available places in the manor, she had chosen the library, of all places, to take over. She really just liked the space the library provided (just as she had liked the Hogwarts library when they both had been at school); not to mention that his great-grandparents often helped her think some things through when she had a sort of troubled look to her demeanor.

She sighed as she once again started looking through a few of the books that she had found. When they had gotten back from their honeymoon about three weeks ago and resumed working, she had realized that she wanted to try a few of the different departments. She loved working with potions still, but since she was making various potions for the Order and for Remus, she wanted to do something different while at work. So far, she had dabbled with the love concept and experimental charms— both subjects she had fallen in love with. She couldn't seem to soak up enough information. It was just amazing what kind of information was documented, theorized about, and had been tested extensively within those two departments. She was fascinated with a lot of the defensive magic. She had already looked over ancient protective charms in various texts elsewhere, but some of the texts and experiments she had been reading through from the DOM archives were something out of this world. However, all of the invented spells and tactics that had been used or created seemed to lack power in their execution, which often rendered the spell useless. The ideas and theory seemed solid, but the process needed to be remedied if the spells were going to be put into general use one day.

However, some of the books she had found in the Potter library, which were relevant to her research anyway, appeared to be books that she probably couldn't use. James had already pointed out the few sections that he said could not, under any circumstances, leave the Potter library. She was sure that some of the books she had collected fell within that category. She hadn't personally pulled them off of the shelf so she couldn't know for sure. She made sure that was the last time she used a reverse placement charm to locate and place materials relating to what she was researching near her person. Now she would have to check with James without exactly telling him what she was researching. She smiled slightly, knowing the exact smirk he would have on his face as he watched her struggle to do that. He loved to tease her about being sworn to secrecy, but she knew that she would tease him just as badly about anything whenever the opportunity came along.

James also had been working overtime for the Auror program. He had had a few things to make up when they had returned from their honeymoon, but Alastor had also decided to increase their schedule tremendously on top of that. There was still a residual worry within the magical community, even though not much action had happened as of late. Dumbledore had been arguing to the Order that the large fires that were erupting occasionally throughout muggle Britain were Voldemort-related though. Alastor, being the paranoid persona that he was, was similarly positive that this was merely the calm before the storm. She had a gut feeling that they both were right, but it still sucked for all of the Auror recruits. James, Sirius, Frank, and Alice all looked crazed sometimes when they thought about all of the work that they were required to go through in such a short amount of time. Alastor was pushing to get the trainees to start taking their tests while continuing their training and doing fieldwork half-time hopefully starting just after the first of the New Year.

Considering Auror training typically takes three years to complete, this was almost unprecedented. However, Alastor had the support of the Head Auror, being one of the Senior Aurors himself, as well as the Minister of Magic, who wanted to do everything to protect the public— even if it meant sending out Aurors who weren't fully trained. Lily was still a bit wary over this, but James had told her that he and Sirius were finished with slightly more than a year of training already, considering the increased regiment and their completion of the disguise and concealment portion. By the time they actually started any fieldwork, they would be at least halfway through the program, and most of the second half of training involved some fieldwork anyway. She supposed that being a part of the Order already qualified as fieldwork too so they technically would only be doing similar stuff, only for the Ministry this time. Maybe her worrying truly was unnecessary.

There was a shuffling sound somewhere outside the library, and her head immediately turned to the door she had left open. She continued to hear something shuffle across the floor so she got up quickly with a smile, thinking James had finally returned. She sometimes wished he had a crack to his apparition, but at the same time, it also distinguished his arrival from anyone else's. However, she became concerned when she heard flames start up and James' voice echo out slightly panicked, "Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts."

Lily's pace quickened as she made her way into the living room to wait for him to come back. Something must've happened if he was going to see Dumbledore right away. She thought briefly about following him, but knew it would be pointless. She ended up biting her nails a bit while she waited anxiously. She became even more anxious when she realized a lot more time had gone by than was necessary. She fought to keep busy while she waited, but after an hour, she was about to floo to Dumbledore's office herself to give them both a piece of her mind for causing her to worry so much. She finally just marched back out into the living room to floo SOMEWHERE just so she would no longer be alone in this big, empty house when there was a soft crack behind her. She turned quickly and noticed James looking disheveled and tired although he smiled when he gazed over at her. Lily's wand was on him in an instant.

James' smile fell, and his hazel eyes widened at his wife, clearly alarmed. He suddenly had a flashback of waking up in the hospital wing at Hogwarts during fifth year and finding out that he'd been there for three days because Lily had confounded him so severely that he had forgotten who he was for that long. He vaguely remembered asking her out for what must've been the millionth time causing her to go off in a fit of rage. She had requested that he forget all about her, but when he had refused, she had told him that she would make him— and make him she had. Needless to say, this could potentially be a very scary situation. He eyed her, obviously hesitant. "Lils? Ummm, what are you doing?"

Her green eyes narrowed on him. Hadn't she just been thinking about how he never made a noise when he apparated? He had just flooed to Hogwarts an hour ago and now he was apparating back to the manor? Not to mention that apparition was impossible from the Hogwarts grounds! "Oh, don't you 'Lils' me! Who the hell are you? How'd you get through the wards?"

James was thoroughly confused and held up his hands, purposely not trying to defend himself because that would ultimately find him hexed into a zillion pieces. He had no idea why she thought he was someone else. Potter Manor was the safest place around. His mind and body were too tired to think of reasons why so he just went with it, hoping against hope that he didn't end up in the Hogwarts hospital wing in a matchbox. He tried to placate his temperamental wife, "Lily, I swear it's me. Ask me anything you like to prove it. You know that Potter Manor's wards can't be bypassed without a particular pass phrase that only four people know— you, me, Lauren, and Dumbledore."

She eyed him critically, noting his tired persona. He had been with Rosier. What if he had been discovered? There were a number of ways in which that critical information could have been given, although none of them seemed all that plausible now that she thought about it. James would never drink anything offered to him by a Death Eater (he would transfigure it silently into something else entirely first), nor would they be able to get into his head through Leglimency (Dumbledore had already told her that James was a rather gifted Occlumens, having practiced it for so long). He also wasn't trying to fight her either. In fact, he looked more than willing to let her do her worst, which gave her the impression that it had to be her husband; only he would know the full extent of what she could dish out for him to be slightly wary of her wand on him. He, of course, had suffered at the end of her wand more than a few times over the years. She thought carefully of a question to ask him, just to be sure. It would have to be something no Death Eater would even think to look for. They would want to know stuff about Potter Manor or the Potter family, but they probably would care nothing about her, a mere muggleborn, and James' relationship. She finally asked, "What did you engrave on my ring?"

James gave her a half-smile, his eyes a bit amused. "I never thought I'd have to ask you that question again, love." He paused dramatically before asking in that charming, almost arrogant way of his, "Will you go out with me, Evans?"

Her wand faltered, and she frowned despite wanting to smile back at him for being who he was. It wasn't fair that she loved him so much. She hated feeling so worried. "I'm still incredibly mad at you."

He chuckled weakly as he reached out to finally pull her into his arms, quite happy that she was no longer fighting him anymore. He kissed her forehead and rubbed her back gently, enjoying the fact that she practically melted into his arms. "I'm sorry to hear that. Now why in the world would you think that I wasn't me anyway?"

She sighed into his chest, shaking her head. His arms made her feel safe and secure, but she wouldn't admit that she liked being taken care of like this. She had a reputation of never-ceasing confidence to uphold, even though she knew deep down that James could easily see through her façade. She mumbled out her worries, "You made a crack with your apparition, and then you went to Hogwarts an hour ago through the floo and then apparated back instead. I think it's too quiet in this house, and it caused me to worry more than usual."

His brow furrowed, tightening his hold on her for a moment before pulling back to look into her pretty eyes in an effort to reassure her that things were going to be just fine. "Sorry, love. I must make a sound when I apparate if I'm really tired. As for Hogwarts, I had to take Dumbledore to a supposed hide-out Rosier mentioned in passing. I apparated back from there instead of going back to the school. I didn't think you heard me return when I first came here anyway, but still, you should know that there is no way to enter here without permission. You're completely safe here."

She nodded, looking up at him with a small smile finally gracing her pretty face. "I know. Was that all you had to do with Dumbledore? You sounded really panicked, and you were gone a while."

James frowned, and his hazel eyes betrayed his worry over whatever information he had received. "No, that wasn't all. Apparently, they are planning something over the holidays. I was told to make sure I was far away from the villages during that time. He didn't give specifics, but trust me, it was enough. If you could only have seen Rosier's face when he mentioned this… He looked sickeningly excited over whatever they are planning to do. It took tremendous self-control not to forget that I was supposed to look the same way."

Lily was surprised and clearly showed her dismay over the news. "Over the holidays? They would be that heartless? Everyone will be there! Everyone is Christmas shopping right now!"

He nodded grimly. "I know. I told Dumbledore right away because then he can contact the others. We're probably going to have to keep a stronger vigil on Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade now. The Ministry won't do anything. Alastor has already said that the Aurors are stretched thin as it is. They don't have the extra manpower to monitor the villages. Our best bet is going to be to have some of the Order there to contact more people if and when it occurs to minimize the damage. I'm positive something will happen, but I have to concede that Rosier could have just been messing with my head. It's better to be safe than sorry though."

Lily shook her head, still horrified by the very idea of an attack in the villages over Christmas. "That is sick. We're going to have to—"

Both of their heads turned abruptly at the loud crack that echoed in the living room. Sirius Black looked furious. He eyed the two of them standing there in each other's arms briefly, but without any of his usual witty commentary regarding the two of them, he just turned his fierce and determined grey eyes completely on James. "Prongs, we have a serious problem."

James stepped away from Lily slightly as he turned to his best mate, deeply concerned. It had been a long time since he had seen Sirius this angry. "What? What is it? Did something happen after I left?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and almost pulled out his hair in frustration. He managed to spit out somewhat sarcastically, "No. What was said was bad enough, but this has nothing to do with that. This problem is someone called Remus-I-will-never-ask-for-help-even-if-I-need-it-Lupin."

Lily looked confused. "What's wrong with him? He's been living at home and searching for muggle teaching positions, hasn't he? What could possibly be wrong?"

Sirius practically growled, "I went to go see him after our little meeting like I had been planning on doing since we hadn't heard from him in a while, but his parents' house was inhabited by new owners, a muggle family from the looks of it. I sent him a patronus because I was more than a little confused, and he met me at the Three Broomsticks. Apparently, his family gave him an ultimatum to go to Australia for treatment or they would stop helping him. They split when he declined. This was _weeks_ ago, Prongs! How could he have hidden this from us? I told him to come and stay with me, or even you, but he refused the quote unquote 'charity.' He fought with me tooth and nail before just apparating away in a rage. Now, I have no idea where he is or where he's been staying. Stubborn wolf."

Lily gasped, completely shocked. "WHAT?"

James' eyes were huge in disbelief and alarm. "We have to go find him, Padfoot…"

Sirius scowled, rolling his eyes once again. "Hello? I know that! Why do you think I came here? But where in the world would he have gone if not to us?"

They all thought for a few moments before James just sighed wearily. "I know where. He would have gone to the shack. He has nowhere else."

Sirius grumbled, "I should have thought of that."

Lily pointed her finger at the both of them, her eyes filled with a fury only she could possess. "It's freezing outside, and he is holed up in the SHACK? You both go get him THIS INSTANT and bring him either here or to your flat. You make sure he knows I want words with him too. Lots of words."

James gave her a tiny grin, despite everything. "I'm sure that will make him feel loads better, love."

Sirius shook his head, smiling for the first time since he had arrived. "I wouldn't wish that on anyone, Red."

She shooed at them exasperatedly, but James didn't listen and just pulled her closer to him. He kissed her lips softly before leaning over to whisper in her ear, "I'll be back soon. Love you."

She wriggled out of his arms, pushing at him lightly, but she returned his grin. "Love you too. Now, go!"

Lily heard the both of them apparate away, although James' crack was barely audible. She frowned when she realized how tired her husband must be. He had had training all day, patrolled with Benjy in Hogsmeade for a few hours, went to this meeting with Rosier, and then went to see Dumbledore. And now, he had to go out again. Not to mention that he had to go to Auror training once again early in the morning. He was going to be incredibly exhausted tomorrow. She figured she might as well get ready for bed so that the both of them could just go to sleep when he returned. She vowed to keep him at home tomorrow night. She, Fabian, and Gideon were patrolling Diagon Alley for a few hours tomorrow, but then she and James could just enjoy a relaxing night together at home.

She made her way back to the library to tidy up her things. She couldn't believe Remus would have hid this from all of them. How dare he think that any of them helping him get back on his feet would be considered charity. They were his friends. When she was finished with him, he would be sure to know that, that was for sure. James and Sirius together would set him fairly straight. As she thought about whatever argument Sirius and Remus must've had, she knew that Sirius tended to let his emotions get the better of him while Remus was likely acting out probably due to sulking and perhaps, low self-esteem. James would be the mediator and would help work everything out for the time being.

She sighed as she piled up her books, setting a few of them on the tray to be re-shelved while keeping the others she had wanted to ask James about. She placed her notes, which could only be read by her, into an orderly pile. She sometimes wished she wasn't such a perfectionist, but it worked well for her.

She gradually made her way upstairs, saying goodnight to his grandparents on the stairwell. She smiled at a few pictures that hung on the walls of James when he was younger with Lauren as well as a few new ones of the two of them together. She eventually pulled herself out of her clothes and threw on a camisole like she usually did before curling up on their bed with a book while she waited for James to return. She was rereading Pride & Prejudice, one of her favorite novels. She had found it in the collection of muggle books that James had sent over from her parents' house before it had been sold.

She wasn't sure how much time had gone by, as she was engrossed in the story of Elizabeth Bennett, but she soon heard James finally make his way into their room with a sigh, still looking as tired as ever. She gave him a once over as he began pulling off articles of clothing. She cocked her head at him, giving him a small smile. "So?"

James gave her a half-smile as he locked onto her gorgeous green eyes. "I got him to go with Sirius. Two against one was better odds. He would have come here, but he insisted that he would rather not intrude on the newlyweds."

Lily rolled her eyes, laughing softly. "I'm sure Sirius and Christina are no better when she's at his place, and his flat is much smaller than here. I'm glad you both got through to him for the time being though."

James chuckled, placing his glasses on the nightstand before crawling up towards his wife. Just thinking that she was his wife made him happier than anything in the world, even if he was too tired to really do much about it at the moment. At least he got to enjoy the fantastic view of her in her knickers and tiny camisole whenever he wanted. He brushed some of her hair out of her face, his hand grazing her cheek lightly as he gazed over her pretty features. "I know. I can't believe he didn't tell us to begin with, but I suppose it can't be easy admitting to your two wealthy best mates that your parents practically disowned you and left you with nothing. We've never given him the impression that such a thing would ever make a difference, but I suppose if I were in his position, I would want to be alone too. It's kind of like how he handles being a werewolf sometimes."

She leaned over and kissed his lips softly before pushing him to lie flat on his stomach. She maneuvered herself so she was straddling him and then ran her hands over his bare back, massaging his tense muscles. "I suppose."

He groaned into their comforter at her actions. "You know I love you, right?"

Lily just smirked, kneading her hands into his shoulders to work out some of his knots. "I know. You told him I wanted to speak with him too, didn't you?"

He snickered, thoroughly enjoying her assault on his back. "Yeah, but he took it for what it really was. Your reputation precedes you, Lily. The scared look on his face was probably one of the reasons he finally agreed to go home with Sirius."

He heard her sigh in that knowing way of hers and knew the exact grin that would be on her face at the moment. It was the one she had always worn when she had been one step ahead of him when they had used to argue at school. He let her continue torturing his body for a few more minutes, but then surprised her by turning over and pulling her to lie down next to him. She pouted at him playfully. "What? Did I not do a good enough job?"

James chuckled. "No. It was _too_ good actually. Now, I'm really, really tired."

Lily smiled at him, running her fingers over his bare collarbone. "What time do you have to get up tomorrow? I'll wake you."

He sighed as he started to dread the workout Alastor was going to put them through in the morning. "Six."

James let her pull away from him only so she could set a personal alarm charm. The room also became dark. He pulled her petite frame tightly against him once more, his lips finding hers quite easily. He eventually broke the kiss after a few minutes of bliss, resting his forehead against hers and running his fingers softly along the small of her back. "Night, beautiful. I love you."

Lily grinned contently as she reveled in being with him like this. "Night. I love you too."

She shifted so she could lie more comfortably on his chest. It wasn't long before she could tell that he had fallen asleep, and despite everything going on around them, she felt happy. She soon was able to drift into a content sleep herself.

It had only been two hours, but Lily was already pacing around the living room because she couldn't possibly sit still right now. It was Christmas Eve. However, even the lovely Christmas decorations that had been put up within the manor did nothing to lift Lily's spirits. Instead of enjoying a happy Christmas at home, she was sitting with Christina, Lauren, and Shelley wondering for the millionth time why in the world she had allowed James and Sirius to go off and help monitor the villages with some of the other Order members today. The two of them were in Diagon Alley with Fabian and Gideon while Sturgis, Benjy, Frank, and Alice were in Hogsmeade. Almost everyone (so long as they weren't a Dept. Head or Senior member anyway) was off work today for the holiday, meaning that everyone (and she meant everyone) would be doing their last minute Christmas shopping in the villages. If the Death Eaters and Voldemort were going to act like they had alluded they would, the best, or worst depending on how you looked at it, day for devastation would be today.

Lauren, who had come home a few days prior, observed Lily's pacing for a few minutes, but her eyes tired of it rather quickly. She was just as worried about the boys, but she definitely had a handle on it better than her sister-in-law. "Lily, you're making me ill. Sit down already. You pacing is not going to bring them back any faster."

Lily glared at the dirty blonde momentarily before relenting and sitting down next to her on the couch in a huff, her knee bobbing slightly instead. "You're not helping."

Christina rolled her eyes at the two of them. "Stop it, you guys. We're all worried. We just have to wait…unfortunately."

Shelley sighed, handing out tea that one of the house elves had brought out. She neglected to mention that she had added minor calming draughts to them while they all hadn't been watching. Being a Healer had its perks. "They'll be fine, ladies. Both of them are quite capable. Not to mention that at a moment's notice through patronus, we could be there to help them along with the others you mentioned to me if anything were to happen."

Lily sipped her tea, and instantly recognized the calming draught's presence being a potion connoisseur herself. She didn't really care at the moment though because she supposed that she could probably use one. "It's not that we don't think they can handle it, Shelley. I personally just don't want it to happen in the first place. I mean, all those people…"

The girls continued to drink their tea and converse about anything other than what they were worried about. Lily had to admit that it was kind of nice, just chatting with a group of girls like this. Sure, she had lunch with Shelley or Christina often enough, but the four of them together was fun. She had been spending most of her time with James and Sirius so she was definitely enjoying the girl time, even under the circumstances. After almost another hour or two had gone by, they were surprised to suddenly hear a crack behind them. Lily shot the newcomer a quick glance, but ended up just raising her eyebrow a bit as she delighted in tormenting him— for the time being at least. "Remus…come to join us?"

Remus gulped and observed Lily weakly. He had already experienced the wrath of Lily over his behavior for blowing off his friends and isolating himself and did not wish to have a repeat performance. How James had ever been able to continuously go back to Lily after being yelled at so much when he had used to ask her out profusely was beyond him. Now, they were married. Heaven help James if he were to ever get on her bad side. It was horrendously scary. Now, he was facing not only Lily, but three other powerful and confident witches. It would make any man a little wary. He spoke hesitantly, "Sort of, if that's ok. I'm all by myself, seeing as Pete's working at Gambol's in the Alley. I could just go and walk around by myself in one of the villages, but we had all agreed to stay put unless we were called. I figured company would be the best way to alleviate stress."

Lauren snickered, breaking any of the tension Remus felt, and waved him over. "We could use a dose of testosterone anyway. Just make sure you groan or something if we get too girly. Don't be polite about it by keeping quiet and getting red in the face."

Remus rolled his eyes, plopping down in an armchair before responding dryly, "I'll be sure to do that, Lauren. Besides, talking to you four is bound to be easier than listening to James and Sirius go back and forth."

Christina nodded, her blue eyes sparkling. "But you ignore them so easily, Remus… How ever do you do it?"

Remus shrugged, looking mischievous. "Must be my inner Marauder."

They all laughed at that, but the mood abruptly changed when a bright light flew into the living room in the shape of a giant dog. The dog skidded to a halt, looking around extremely anxious as Sirius' voice rang out a bit higher than normal and considerably panicked, "Under attack, but DON'T COME! Apparition is warded with deadly consequences, and the floo's been compromised. Alert Dumbledore right away. I've alerted Alastor and the Aurors already. Everyone is locked in the village."

The dog disintegrated into nothingness just as abruptly as its arrival, leaving all of them looking utterly distraught and panicked. Lauren was the first to move, running to the fireplace and flooing to see Dumbledore. Lily just looked at Christina, wanting nothing more than to apparate to Diagon Alley in an instant. Remus was the one who stopped her, placing a hand on her arm. "Don't, Lily. Something could happen if you try to apparate inside. Sirius said it was warded with deadly consequences, meaning he saw someone die from trying to get out. They would want us all to be safe."

Lily nodded reluctantly, feeling herself start to pale considerably. Her fear over the situation had tripled. Christina stood up instantly, clearly not calm at all either. "But we have to do SOMETHING!"

Shelley grabbed Christina's arms, her eyes equally concerned about the turn of events. She spoke softly, "We really can't do anything but wait."

Dumbledore and Lauren came through the floo, and he looked quite livid and more powerful than any of them had seen him look before. His words were grim, "I'm going to the Leaky Cauldron. You all stay here. I have to try and breach the ward, but from the sounds of it, it's locked from the inside. If that's the case, the only hope then would be James."

He disappeared silently as soon as he had finished speaking, leaving them all just looking at each other horrified at what was now going on around them. They all felt useless just standing there. It sure didn't help any when they saw Frank's elephant patronus storm into the room, alerting them that Hogsmeade was under attack as well.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34 – First Blood and First Draw II

James walked silently along through the streets of Diagon Alley for the sixth time that afternoon. He was in disguise, transfigured to look like the most average brunette male he could think of. He listened intently to everything going on around him. One of the side effects to becoming an animagus was enhanced senses, depending on the animal one changes into. He, being a stag, had heightened hearing. Sirius, being a dog, had a heightened sense of smell. Peter, being a rat, had nothing really extra, although he did have a particular nose for cheese.

Remus had been the most help to both James and Sirius due to having heightened senses of smell, sight, and hearing all of the time, particularly so the closer it was to a full moon. It was one of the reasons Remus tended to isolate himself during the week approaching a full moon; when you could hear whispered conversations everywhere you went or notice the lint on someone's shirt from meters away, it tended to get overwhelming. He had taught the two of them how to control the extra sense by closing it off, opening it up, and selectively going through the incoming information. At least James felt that he was somewhat proficient at it by now.

He listened carefully to the people closest to him, switching from person to person and extending his sense out to persons a good distance away. He was looking for anything distinctive. He had a knack for distinguishing voices. If he heard anything from a known Death Eater, he was going to expect the worst.

So far, the afternoon had been rather dull. He knew that Sirius was tailing him somewhat as they made their way around again and again, but both Fabian and Gideon had decided to keep camp around Gringotts in the center of the village. The village was bustling with people though, which definitely did nothing to alleviate any of James' stress about what may occur. There was barely walking room since the village was so busy. If the Death Eaters struck today, the results would be devastating.

He continued to go from conversation to conversation until he heard laughter which made his face pale and his heart still. It was Rosier. His head turned swiftly toward Gringotts, his eyes searching desperately for the source. However, his vision was obstructed by a large explosion which started from that direction. People instantly started to scream, but James felt the static of magic littering the air around them. He saw a few panicked expressions on most of the surrounding adults' faces so he shouted out quickly, "Nobody apparate! There's a ward!"

However, even with his prompt warning, it wasn't enough time to get the message out. He saw about fifteen people drop to the ground after spinning on the spot, their eyes now gazing lifelessly back at him. James' face crumpled at the sight, but at least the others who had heard him and noticed the outcome seemed to listen to him now. There were now tons of families running for the shops to try and use the floo, but James had an uneasy feeling that this was going to be a problem too. He saw rapid spell fire near the center square by Gringotts and knew he had to get to that location to save who he could before help arrived. He looked back for Sirius, nodding to him to go and alert who he could.

He quickly disillusioned himself and began trying to make his way through the mass of people running away from the center of the village. He saw green spells flying in all directions, along with other hurtful spells. Despite being disillusioned, he had to dodge more than a few spells and maintain a shield occasionally. Buildings and shops were starting on fire, and explosions were going off in all directions, most likely due to stray spells. The screams of pain and fright were considerably louder and more frequent the closer he got to the center square. He was focusing completely ahead of him, but that changed when something ran into his midsection, cutting off his airflow. He looked down as he grasped whoever it was, and noted with sadness that it was a child, who was crying hysterically. The child started struggling, unsure of what was holding him, considering James couldn't be seen easily. He quickly reassured the boy as he tapped him on the head with his wand, "Shh… Go hide in the alley by Ollivander's. Don't come out until you hear someone identify themselves as an Auror. I disillusioned you so no one can see you. I may send others there as well."

The child stopped struggling and muttered a heartfelt 'thanks' before running away. James' heart constricted when he looked back up. There were families covered in blood, parents shielding their children by taking the curses themselves, and blood and bodies now stained the snowy white ground in the middle of the village center square in front of Gringotts. There were masked men in black hoods, laughing wickedly and taunting everyone. There was also something else that almost made him physically ill just by looking at them; they could only be reanimated corpses walking around, and they were grabbing individuals for the Death Eaters to curse. He had never seen anything so horrible. It was out of a person's worst nightmares. He sent out a few curses at the closest Death Eaters, watching them fall to the ground from being hit in the back. He made his way closer, trying to keep as hidden as possible while he was disillusioned, shooting off curses and stunners as he went along. He briefly wondered why the Aurors hadn't arrived yet, considering Sirius would have contacted them already. There must be something wrong.

Some of his spells were being noticed so he had to go on the defensive for a bit, but was successful at not being found. He continued his attacks from a new location until he came across the sight of two Death Eaters fighting three people he recognized. His attention was soon completely on saving them. He instantly took out the Death Eaters with two stunners and came up to the three girls, grabbing the petite brunette by the arm. "Hailey, don't fight anymore. I'm going to disillusion you, and I want you to take others, particularly the children, and hide them in the alleys. Disillusion them too. The spell is 'Dissimulo.' I know you and your friends can do it."

The Gryffindor seeker searched his face because he couldn't be seen all that well, not that he looked like himself to begin with. However, she easily recognized his voice, and she looked up at him obviously frightened, but determined. "Ok, James."

He immediately disillusioned her and the friend who was standing closest, but before he could disillusion her other friend, the girl was hit with some cutting curse. He heard the other two girls yell out hysterically, but he urged them away, "GO! I'll try and help her. GO!"

He leaned over the fallen girl, understandably troubled because he had no clue whatsoever as to what curse could possibly have done the damage he was now looking at. It clearly wasn't 'Diffindo' because that spell wouldn't have caused such a severe slashing— the curse had sliced up her side like a large sword had plunged into her, ripping her midsection almost in two. He immediately began firing off every single healing spell he had ever learned as an Auror, but nothing seemed to be working, likely due to dark magic. The poor girl just continued to bleed out all over the snow, whimpering weakly and struggling to breathe. He became even more anxious, desperately not wanting her to die. He was interrupted though by someone roughly pulling him to his feet. He found himself looking at air, but knew instinctively that the invisible person was Sirius. He pulled at his best mate's hand which was holding onto his robes tightly. "Stop! I have to help her, Padfoot!"

Sirius' voice was pained, "She's gone, Prongs. She's gone. I need you to get rid of the ward. Alastor sent me back a patronus. They can't get inside. I'll block you."

James felt ill as he looked back at the girl he had been trying to save, who was now looking lifelessly back up at the sky. For the life of him, he could not remember her name, and yet, he didn't think he would ever forget her empty teal blue eyes. He barely got out his reply, "Right."

James forcefully turned his attention to the magic he could feel in the air, and he tried to cipher through it. He used both his wand and his hand to try and organize the complicated ward in a way that he could understand. There were layers and layers of magic, some of which he had never seen before. He quickly realized that the ward was far too advanced for him and he wouldn't be able to get through it magically himself so he was going to have to search for a hole to exploit by magically blowing it up. It was going to be extremely dangerous, ultimately because it would cause a large magical backlash. It would also take a tremendous amount of energy from him. His efforts were stilted when he felt a spell hit his back. He winced and lunged forward some at the impact, his wand arm faltering to the point of not wanting to be held up any longer. He could also feel blood start to run down his back steadily. Sirius was suddenly right next to him, continuously firing off spells, but he sounded guilty when he spoke, "It was 'Diffindo.' Keep working. Sorry about that, mate."

James grumbled irritably in return, but tried to ignore the pain he was now feeling in his right shoulder and the lightheadedness from losing blood; the spell must've hit a vein or was really deep because he was losing way more blood than he thought he would if it had just been the severing charm. He forced himself to find the energy to raise his wand, again compiling all the layers of magic so he could see them. It looked to be a mixture of a Rune ward and a complex combination ward for apparition and causing one's heart to stop. It took him more than a few minutes, but he eventually found a weak point. As soon as he found it, he concentrated whatever energy he could at that one spot, hissing out, "Relashio!"

As soon as the spell left his lips, he immediately grabbed Sirius, who was just behind him, and fired off a silent shield spell to try and protect them both from the blast that was sure to result as the wards' layers relaxed and loosened into nothingness. There was a loud bang which erupted all over the village, causing even more screams. James felt himself get knocked off of his feet from the expanding magic and grunted when he felt Sirius land on top of him forcefully enough to cause him an immense amount of pain. He wouldn't be surprised if he had a few broken ribs as a result. It didn't really matter though because he could also hear the indignation of the Death Eaters as the shield-like sphere of magic locking them all in the village seemed to glitter into an orange and purple haze before it dissipated entirely. There was one last green spell shot into the air, causing even more bouts of fright as it turned into a giant Dark Mark, but all of the Death Eaters disapparated with a series of loud pops thereafter. The reanimated corpses also dropped dead, no longer being controlled, littering the village with a number of extra corpses.

James pushed Sirius off of him, undoing both of their disillusionments and other transfigurations. They both just lied there breathing heavily, each not wanting to think about what they had just seen happen. The only thing that made them both feel any better was the fact that a number of Aurors could be heard in the distance finally making their way throughout the village.

Lily was panicking inwardly. She tried to keep all of her fears to herself, considering everyone around her was feeling similarly and there was nothing she could really do about it. She had seen a number of patronuses from almost everyone over the last half hour, but not the one she wanted to see. She was incredibly worried for James, seeing as how neither Sirius nor the Prewett twins had mentioned him when their patronuses had come.

Both villages were apparently on a lockdown by a ward that must've been cast from the inside. Dumbledore couldn't breach either one from the outside, but after Voldemort's presence was detected in Hogsmeade, he had made his way back to Hogwarts and was somehow finally able to enter Hogsmeade from the school. Oddly enough, Voldemort being present had made all the difference. Some of the other Order members had joined him there, but the fight in Hogsmeade ended as soon as Dumbledore's presence had been discovered. Voldemort had been irate. Now, everyone had congregated at Potter Manor, waiting for news from Alastor and Dumbledore regarding Diagon Alley, which remained locked solid with no way in. Aurors were all standing by, but they could only wait helplessly as they listened to the screams of everyone locked inside.

Christina had started talking incessantly about whatever she could possibly think of. Lily knew that it was her way of dealing with being upset and worried. Shelley had been the one listening to her patiently, speaking softly to her whenever there was a moment's pause to interrupt. Lily knew that Shelley was used to this sort of worry, being a Healer who worked regularly for Emergency cases that were brought in. However, Shelley had been called to work as soon as Hogsmeade was no longer warded due to a large amount of people being brought to St. Mungo's. Hestia, who had turned up shortly after the first few patronuses had been sent, was now the one sitting patiently with Christina.

Remus was incredibly pale, obviously concerned about his best mates, although he still held the belief that maybe it wasn't as bad as it sounded. The other Order members that had arrived were talking in hushed tones, patching themselves up due to minor hexes and cuts from going into Hogsmeade— Sturgis, Benjy, Emmeline, Caradoc, Edgar, Marlene, and surprisingly, Professor McGonagall. Potter Manor had a number of remedies that Lily had retrieved from the potions drawing room. That was the one room in the manor that she knew her way around like the back of her hand.

It had only been by luck that none of the Order members had been seriously hurt in Hogsmeade. Frank had been the only one hurt severely enough to need to go to St. Mungo's. He had stepped in front of an extremely dark curse meant for Alice that Voldemort had shot off. Lily was glad to hear that he was going to be ok. Alice had sent them all a patronus from the hospital, alluding that much at least. However, her heart felt extremely heavy as they continued to hear about the absolute carnage that had erupted in Hogsmeade. There had been a large number of casualties among the customers and shopkeepers, and the number kept rising with every new patronus from Dorcas, who was pretending to be a reporter so she could gather inside information so the Order knew just how bad things really were. She claimed that families had been torn apart and devastated all within a few minutes.

Lily began to worry even more when she thought about the fact that Diagon Alley was still locked and that it had been for a long time now, almost triple the amount of time Hogsmeade had been. The inevitable devastation going on there must be beyond horrible. She could feel herself paling as she began to worry about her husband all over again.

Lauren, who was obviously having the same worry Lily was as she sat curled up on the other end of the couch looking equally distraught, suddenly sat up straighter and spoke over all of the incessant chatter, startling Lily considerably, "Reeny!"

The house elf appeared after a few moments, looking interested. "Miss Lauren calls? What can Reeny do for Miss Lauren?"

Lauren's hazel eyes looked renewed with life. "You can tell us if James is alright, can't you?"

Reeny looked at her funny, almost confused about the question, but she didn't question Lauren because it was against house elf rules to ever question someone with authority over them. The elf looked away momentarily, a distant look in her big blue eyes. "Master James is casting very advanced magic and is very tired, Miss."

Lily felt her heart ease as she sagged further into the couch, relieved for the time being. Everyone else seemed to smile slightly at the news as well. Lauren looked at the elf with a full smile for the first time that afternoon. "He's trying to breach the ward. Good."

Christina looked at the elf hopefully. "Can you tell if Sirius is with him?"

Reeny looked apologetic. "Reeny is sorry, Miss. Mr. Black is not Reeny's Master. All Reeny knows is that Master James is not alone."

Lily felt herself tense slightly. That line could be taken that James was either with Death Eaters or with Sirius, Fabian, or Gideon. However, she still knew that James was ok and for that, she was grateful. She spoke softly to the elf, "Thanks, Reeny."

Reeny turned to her mistress with a big smile, curtsying sweetly. "Anything for Miss Lily."

The house elf disappeared shortly after that, but Lily felt herself blush at the obvious attention the house elf gave her. She was still not used to having house elves in the first place, let alone house elves that wanted her to order them around. While Lauren was James' cousin, she had never been a proper mistress to the house elves because she was not a Potter by blood or a Potter spouse so she had never had to deal with this kind of attention. The house elves still responded to her calls, but only pursuant to James' request. She heard Lauren start to giggle at her so she turned to face her, "Shut it, you."

Lauren was still smiling. "What? I think it's cute."

Lily shook her head with a sigh. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Lauren."

Lily soon found herself lost in her thoughts once again, wishing desperately that this was all over. She found herself gazing into the green flames that were in the large fireplace as she silently brooded over how dismal this Christmas was turning out to be. All of the devastated families, the incessant worrying, the pandemonium that was likely to result from the attacks, the fact that James wasn't there with her and could be hurt…

Suddenly, a bright light entered the room, but it was Lily who felt her heart being given back to her. It was a familiar stag. The stag limped into the room wearily, and James' voice echoed out tiredly, "I broke the ward. The Aurors are inside the village now, and the Death Eaters have gone. Sirius, the twins, and I have to stay, but we'll all be back soon."

The stag seemed to linger, almost looking directly at Lily for a moment, before it faded away entirely. Lily and the rest of the Order seemed to all let out the breaths they had been holding. James' voice had made her feel better, but she could clearly tell that he was not ok. It wasn't that he was hurt physically, although he could be; it was more that what he had seen and done over the last hour was weighing heavily on his mind. She knew it would be a long time before he would ever forget what had just happened. She knew that forgetting how worried she had been, and still was for the record, would take a long time as well. At the same time, she almost didn't want to forget. She wanted to make sure that monster was brought to justice. No one should ever be that cruel, and she, along with the Order she was sure, would not stop until that happened.

James sighed wearily as he went over his memory of what had happened again for Alastor and Dumbledore. After getting healed up properly and taking a blood replenishing potion and a restorative potion, he had been taken back to the Ministry with Sirius, Fabian, and Gideon. They had had to follow Ministry protocol, overseen by Moody of course, by filling out a whole lot of paperwork and verbally going over what had happened over and over again. Now, all four of them were in Dumbledore's office back at Hogwarts where they all had provided their memories of the entire attack for their perusal, only for Order purposes this time. That should have been the end of it, but they had been forced to wait while Alastor and Dumbledore went through each of their memories— not once, but twice. This had taken a considerable amount of time, but they also had been discussing them for the last half hour now. However, James wanted nothing more than to go home and see his wife, who had to be worried out of her mind by now.

Sirius was looking similarly perturbed over the whole situation. James was sure he wanted to go see Christina and just forget about everything for a while. Fabian and Gideon probably wouldn't disagree with leaving all that much either, considering they both had Molly to answer to. Molly may be their younger sister, but James had never seen two grown men cower faster than when she had started rowing at them for teaching her children quote unquote, 'mad tricks.' She had just randomly shown up in the middle of an Order meeting once, letting loose a whole trail worth of obscenities for having found that her children had pranked their father— the one and only, Arthur Weasley. She was quite the formidable witch. Dumbledore had mentioned in passing to him a while back that Arthur and Molly were looking out for information for the Order while not being directly involved unless need be, which was similar to people like Shelley, Professor McGonagall, and Hagrid.

He heard Sirius grunt in annoyance next to him, which brought his attention back to the conversation (more like lecture) they were all supposed to be listening to. Alastor was still going on and on about constant vigilance, and was again questioning why James hadn't started messing with the ward sooner so he finally snapped and interrupted, "Look Alastor, there was no reason to believe the ward wasn't able to be penetrated from the outside. If I had known sooner, I would have taken care of it sooner. And if I hadn't blown it up, the ward would likely still be in place and a lot more would have died. I apologize for some of the Aurors being injured from the blast, but to tell you the truth, they shouldn't have been that close to the ward in the first place, considering everyone knew it was there. Shouldn't you be lecturing them for ignoring the obvious magical traces and knowing better? They're the ones who have finished their training. Are we done here?"

Alastor blinked his black beady eyes at James, slightly surprised, before giving him a rare smile. "Sure, laddie. We'll all talk more tomorrow when we have that extra Order meeting with Christmas dinner. Molly's supposed to be cooking so I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The other three shot James a grateful look before getting up to finally floo home. Gideon tipped a pretend hat at James with a wink. "Tell that pretty wife of yours I said hello."

James rolled his eyes playfully back. He knew that it was a game for a lot of the guys in the Order to flirt horrendously with Lily because she was gorgeous and taken. He had seen them doing it to Alice occasionally as well. "Right. Tell Molly that if she needs any help putting you two in your places, I'd be happy to offer my services. We'll see you guys tomorrow."

Fabian snickered. "She does fine all by herself. Later, boys. Albus. Alastor."

The twins flooed to the Burrow. James nodded toward Alastor and Dumbledore, grabbing some floo powder to follow suit. He felt Sirius grab onto his left shoulder, the one that wasn't still throbbing, so he threw down the floo powder and mumbled out tiredly, "Potter Manor."

As soon as he seemed to land, he felt someone run hard into his chest. He winced, although he smiled slightly at the sight of red hair when he looked down. He raised his left hand, running his fingers through her silky hair as he returned the fierce hug from his worried wife. He eventually caught his breath back from her sudden assault before saying lightly, "I think you broke my ribs again, Lils."

She pulled away from him instantly with a shocked look in her eyes as she gazed up at him. She ran her hands over his chest lightly, her brow furrowing. "What? Your ribs were broken?"

James looked sheepish for making a joke about it and didn't want to worry her more than necessary right now, even though she was probably going to hear everything at some point. He was still sore from everything, but he would rather she not worry anymore than she had been already. "Ummm…"

Sirius chuckled and his grey eyes were mischievous over James' expense. He pulled away from Christina, who had been waiting similarly for him, before saying teasingly, "He broke four ribs, Red."

Lily's green eyes grew even more worried, but James just smiled evilly in return at this before responding just as cheekily, "Correction. SIRIUS broke four of my ribs."

Lily, easily bated, immediately shrieked, "WHAT?"

Christina snickered and pulled away from Sirius, essentially getting out of Lily's way as she began to whack Sirius upside his head in retaliation (or as a warm greeting, depending on how you look at it). Lauren took that moment to hug James, her arms around his neck. James again winced when he felt her hang on his right shoulder a bit. "We were really worried, Jimmy."

James sighed. "I know. We're sorry about that." His hazel eyes seemed to glaze over though as she pulled away from him. "It was horrible."

Sirius, who had managed to evade Lily somewhat because she hadn't let go of James completely and because she wasn't putting forth a complete effort since she was truly glad to see him too, also sighed in a rather downhearted and somber fashion at James' changed tone. He spoke firmly, almost as if to reassure himself at the same time, "We're not thinking about it anymore for right now, Prongs. We'll have to deal with it tomorrow at the meeting."

The three girls exchanged looks, knowing that whatever they had seen that day was probably going to haunt them for a while. Lauren hugged Sirius quickly before saying to him and Christina, "You two go on home. Peter arrived a while ago really shaken up from being holed up in Gambol's while everything had happened so Remus went with him to keep him company. They both said they would see you two sometime tomorrow and hoped everything was alright. It's been a long day for everyone, I think."

Sirius and Christina said their goodbyes, and Lauren gave James one more hug before heading upstairs herself to leave Lily and James alone for a while. Everyone else had left hours ago. Lily turned back to her husband, who she finally noticed she was still holding onto. She frowned as she observed his despondent expression. "You're not ok, are you?"

He frowned, running his hand over the side of her face before answering softly, "Not really, but I will be."

Lily nodded reluctantly at his words as she continued to look him over. He was really there with her finally. It was exactly what she had wanted, but it suddenly seemed to hit her that he could just as easily not be there right now if something horrible had happened earlier. "I was really worried. If anything had happened, I…"

James' face furrowed at her obvious fretting, but he just pulled her back into his arms and buried his face in her neck, inhaling her pretty scent for a moment. "I know, but I'm here now."

She closed her eyes, savoring the contact, especially when she felt his lips kiss her neck softly and his arms hold her tightly. She mumbled into his chest quietly, "I love you."

He smiled at that. "I love you too."

They just held each other like that for a few moments, but then Lily finally noticed something different about him once she had relaxed some. "You changed your clothes."

James sighed, leading them both over to the couch so they could sit down. "I sort of had to."

Her green eyes again looked worried as she studied him more scrupulously as if trying to find something wrong. She ran a hand over his chest again, which she knew was probably still a little sore. However, that wouldn't have given him a reason to change his clothes. "You were hurt beyond the ribs. What else happened? Was this why your patronus was limping?"

James looked at her amused, considering she had said all of that so quickly that it was hard to make out. His face soon changed to a grimace though as he pointed wearily to his right shoulder. "While I was working on the ward, I got hit with a stray 'Diffindo.' I was patched up so don't worry; it's just a little tender yet. I suppose there were some burns from the ward blasting too, but Sirius landed on top of me and took most of them despite my shield. I just got the broken ribs out of the deal instead. And your patronus is an extension of you so it probably possesses that type of quality, projecting your current status or something of the sort, although I hadn't really thought about that before."

She nodded some, knowing that he probably didn't want to talk too much about what had happened anymore today. Just as Sirius had said, there would be an Order meeting tomorrow; not to mention that he would eventually tell her everything, just in his own time. She leaned back into the couch that she had been sitting on almost all day, only this time, she felt much more relaxed and she was with James. She smiled at him faintly, noticing that he was playing with her fingers as he held her hand as if he didn't even realize he was doing it. He was also slipping into his favorite pastime— staring at her. "I'm so glad you're finally here. Even with all of the people coming in and out of here, it just wasn't the same."

He smiled weakly at that before using his hold on her arm to pull her closer to him so he could kiss her. He lingered some before stopping, leaving his face inches from hers while his fingers ran over her cheek gently. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. By the way, happy Christmas, Lily love. Can I give you your present now? I think you might like it."

Lily looked into his hazel eyes curiously as they remained close while taking care not to lean on him too much for sake of his ribs and right shoulder. "It's just after midnight so I suppose, but we could just wait until morning. I don't mind."

He shook his head playfully and kissed her cheek. "Nonsense."

He then surprised her by quickly setting the two of them up on their feet and apparating them upstairs to their room. Lily pulled away from him slightly, shaking her head as if to get her bearings again. "Warn me before you do that, sweetheart."

He chuckled and looked incredibly mischievous. "Sorry, I forgot. Now, close your eyes."

She narrowed her eyes warily at his odd request. "Why?"

His hazel eyes gazed back at her defiantly. He looked like an angry child that was told he couldn't play with his toys. Even after they had been dating and now were married, she was still as stubborn as hell. He admittedly loved every minute of it though. "Because you _have_ to, Lils! I couldn't exactly wrap your gift. Now, come on and close them!"

She grinned at his adorable expression while wondering what on Earth he had gotten her that he couldn't wrap and yet could still fit somewhere in their bedroom. She held up her hands innocently. "Ok, ok…fine. You're lucky I trust you."

James just smiled charmingly back at her until she finally sighed, leading her to relent and close her beautiful green eyes. He admired her profile for a moment before turning his attention around the room, glancing back at her every so often. "No peaking, love, or I'll have to punish you."

She just chuckled and replied cheekily, "Oh, really? Why make being bad sound like so much fun then?"

James looked back at his wife, thoroughly amused by her naughty mind and the naughty smile which was now gracing her face. She still wasn't peaking though. He finished opening up the secret compartment he had created magically within their room, pulling out his gift carefully before replying teasingly back, "Because that would be equally fun…obviously."

He walked back up to her, liking the fact that he could still make her blush. He leaned in close to her, kissing her very kissable lips briefly just so he got to see her pretty smile. He could probably look at her forever. "Open your eyes, beautiful."

Lily opened them cautiously, and her green eyes immediately began to sparkle at what James was holding in his arms. She reached out, smiling ecstatically. "Oh, Merlin! You got me a kitten?"

James chuckled at her delight over the tiny animal as she held it up in front of her. He loved making her happy. "Yeah… I bought her while I was patrolling in Diagon Alley one day. She's part kneazle and really smart, according to the shopkeeper. The house elves have been taking care of her and hiding her from you over the last few days. I know you don't exactly say anything about it all that much, but I have noticed that you tend to get lonely in this cavern of a home when you're here by yourself. I wanted to get you another dog, but they require more attention and training that neither of us can really give since we're both working a lot; not to mention that a German Shepherd would scare the house elves."

Lily held the tiny animal carefully in her hands. She was gorgeous. The little kitten was pure white and not quite a long-hair, but was still super soft. She also had the most exquisite eyes, one a shocking violet and one bright blue. She chuckled at his comment about the poor house elves. "That's definitely true. I love cats anyway. I've always wanted one. I do have Greta though, you know."

He shrugged, waving his hand. "The owls have been gone a lot lately, out hunting and whatnot, and they like to stay in that empty room on the first floor in the East Wing. Besides, this might sound stalker-like, but I overheard you say a long time ago that you would have brought a cat to Hogwarts if your parents hadn't wanted you to write them all of the time."

Lily laughed at that, reaching up to kiss him on the lips. "You're my stalker so it's alright. Thank you. She's absolutely gorgeous."

He smiled as he watched her move the kitten over to her left arm before she pulled out her wand. She waved it quickly, and a package appeared on the bed. She immediately shooed him over to it with a smile. "Here's yours. I was so lucky to have finished it just before today…well, yesterday technically, seeing as it's officially Christmas Day because it's so late. It took such a long time."

His brow furrowed curiously as he watched her sit down on the bed with her new kitten in her lap and a big smile on her face. He sat down next to her and opened up the gift, immediately grinning eagerly at its contents. It was a finished wedding scrapbook. His hazel eyes lit up as he looked over the three pictures gracing the cover: one of him alone, one of the two of them laughing as she sat on his lap, and one of her alone in that gorgeous dress she had worn. He opened it up and noticed not only moving pictures all over, but also charmed words, phrases, speeches, and stories that scrolled across the pages underneath the pictures talking about the whole wedding, from not only Lily but others who had attended the wedding as well. He quickly began flipping through a few pages, grinning at the memories that flooded him from the happiest day of his life thus far. "Lily, this is amazing. How did you ever find the time to do this?"

He watched her sigh, still looking, to him, just as beautiful as she had on their wedding day. She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes critically as she adjusted a few of the photos on the page that was currently open while she spoke, "Well, you have been busier than me, James… And sometimes I said I was working in the library when I was actually doing this so—"

He interrupted her by kissing her, not that she seemed to mind all that much. When he finally pulled away slightly to look into her eyes, she pouted at him playfully. "You made Misty run away."

His face was full of amusement as he noted that her kitten had indeed run out of her lap. "Misty, huh?"

She nodded, her green eyes twinkling adorably. He shrugged with a smile. "It suits her, I guess."

He immediately leaned in again, intent on trying to resume snogging her senseless, but she leaned backward slightly so he questioned her, "What is it, Lils?"

She gave him a pointed look as he continued to advance on her with that charming smile of his anyway. She knew that he was aware that she didn't really mind anything that he was doing, but she still had to at least acknowledge the fact that he should be resting. "You just broke your ribs. I _know_ you are supposed to be taking it easy right now, Romeo. You can't fool me."

He just chuckled into her neck which he had finally reached, considering she had leaned back so far that she was now lying down with him leaning over her. He kissed up her neck softly, stopping near her ear to point out, "The Healer told me no strenuous activity, but I think what we're going to do will only relax the both of us, yes?"

She bit her lip as his mouth then latched onto her collarbone and his hands skimmed up her sides, essentially pulling up her shirt to reveal her bare skin. She could feel her traitorous body starting to give in despite knowing they should probably at least wait until morning so he wouldn't injure himself further. She grumbled out weakly, "You're so mean."

She felt his warm breath tickling her neck as he whispered naughtily, "I promise to make it worth your while, love."

She turned her head to meet his hazel eyes, which were looking down at her in that sexy way of his, all dark and full of desire, lust, and love. It made her heart pound in anticipation. She couldn't help suddenly not really caring all that much, especially if he didn't. "Or I'll make it worth yours."

He started to laugh at that, but was cut off when she pulled his lips down onto hers. Maybe they both could have some happy moments this Christmas after all.

Christmas Day had been a somber affair. Sure, there had been some smiles and some laughter, but everyone had continued to be concerned with the aftermath of the chaos that had resulted from the attacks in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Everyone had grouped together at Order Headquarters that evening for a meeting, which Molly had insisted on cooking for.

It was clear that the Ministry had been infiltrated, and spies must be everywhere. There was no way that Voldemort and the Death Eaters could have pulled off what they had without inside help, particularly from the Dept. of Magical Transportation. The floo in both villages had been inconceivably locked down for no use. They all had discussed anyone that they had seen acting suspiciously within their own departments, but because most were located in the Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement, they had a rather limited scope on other Ministry departments. It had been decided that no one would speak about anything going on in their lives to anyone other than those within the Order, just to be safe. Voldemort probably now had some idea of persons in league with Dumbledore due to their presence during the attack in Hogsmeade. They now had to remain as independent and anonymous as possible.

The final numbers had come in tallying the casualties from the attacks; Voldemort had been successful in eliminating numerous half-bloods and muggleborns. There were even some notable pure-bloods that had perished; of course, these families had not held the same beliefs that Voldemort upheld which meant that those deaths may have actually occurred on purpose. There also had been a Daily Prophet that issued that morning, but it was filled with nothing but rubbish. All it probably had accomplished was making wizards and witches more frightened, meaning that those who once may have considered trying to oppose Voldemort before would be more afraid to do so now.

What had happened during the attacks had been addressed briefly, considering no one really wanted to go into all that much detail. Lily, of course, had not been surprised by this. The highlights (or things of the highest concern for the Order) mostly included that the Death Eaters had no real preference in who they killed (for the most part) because they had shot off the Killing Curse like it had been second nature so everyone was to be on their guard in a future confrontation; the Death Eaters had used imperioused reanimated corpses, something Dumbledore called Inferi, which had not been used for thousands of years; and it was emphasized that the Order members should understand basic ideas about wards (what to look for and who to contact about them) and healing spells (books were given out to ensure that each Order member had at least a basic understanding of how to treat someone well enough to get them safely to a hospital or a Healer).

Dumbledore had also pulled James and Lily aside near the end of the meeting to ask them to look into the perimeter of the Ministry in muggle London in order to check the wards and obscure charms that are used to hide and protect the magical place because Voldemort and his followers had clearly found access somehow. He recommended not going alone, just in case the Ministry was also being watched regularly. That was why, a few days later, James, Lily, Sirius, and Christina were all dressed in warm muggle clothing walking around freezing muggle London together.

James nodded ahead of them as they walked. "That's the Ministry building, but let's stick to the alleys so we can check the wards and such with minimal interference from the muggles. We can use the eye aversion spell, Sirius, so that no one pays us any attention."

Sirius shrugged as he continued to look around everywhere for spies or anything suspicious. He held back with Christina, intent on allowing both James and Lily to slip into the alley first so that he could seal them all in with the spell. Nothing looked suspicious so far, but that didn't mean he felt comfortable in broad daylight anymore, especially near a fixture for magic like the Ministry was. It was like asking for trouble. Voldemort had successfully scared everyone into being cautious. After going in for Auror training over the last two days, it was becoming quite common for all wizards and witches to arrive magically rather than using the muggle entrance, just to be safe. He knew it was a good idea to evaluate the Ministry's wards and protective spells and all, but that didn't mean he thought it was safe to be doing it right now. Not in the least. Christina must've noticed his sour features because she suddenly ran a hand over his face, giving him a pretty smile. "Stop it. We'll be here for an hour, and then, we'll go home."

Sirius sighed, returning her smile half-heartedly. She could always make him smile. "I know. Let's get this over with."

He gently pulled her along into the alley before setting up the eye aversion spell. It was the closest spell to render someone invisible, at least on record at Hogwarts. The Marauders had, of course, researched this extensively once they all had become too big to hide under James' cloak together. He nodded to James when he had finished.

James then turned to his beautiful wife with a smile, kissing her quickly on the cheek. "Let's get this done fast and get the hell out of here, beautiful."

She grinned back at him and pulled him over to the far corner. She soon started checking the protective charms with her wand while James used his hand and his wand to look into the wards. They slowly made their way down the wall with James moving a little more quickly than his wife. He was muttering a few tricky spells, but when he muttered one obscure spell to ensure that a certain ward regarding entry was still in place, he felt a chill and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Lily must've noticed him pause because she instantly questioned him about it, "What? What is it? Is something down?"

James frowned, checking the entry ward one more time. Nothing had happened this time, but he still felt uneasy. "No…I mean, I don't think so. There was just something…" He shook his head. "Forget it. Let's just finish up and go. The particular ward I just checked is still in place so nothing's technically wrong."

Sirius frowned at his best mate. He could tell that something must be amiss if James had faltered. "I'll go check back up near the main road, just in case then. Chrissy, you stay here and watch as they continue their spells, ok?"

Christina nodded and moved closer to James and Lily so she could make sure that if anything happened, she would notice it first. James and Lily resumed their work on the brick wall of the Ministry building. Sirius had only moved a few steps up the alley when they all heard cruel laughter from ahead of them. Each of their heads turned directly toward the sound, and their wands were out.

Lily felt herself pale at the sight in front of them. There were eight men in dark black cloaks blocking their access to the road, leaving them stuck in the alley with no escape because they were surrounded by brick wall on the remaining three sides. The magical static in the air could only be an anti-apparition ward, considering it was what Lily always felt whenever she crossed the entrance into Hogwarts. However, what made her the most wary was the male standing directly in the middle of the group. He obviously was the one in authority, but Lily had enough sense to know that he was who everyone was so afraid of. He was the ever-elusive and heartless bastard that went by the name of Lord Voldemort. Noting his stature, he must've been handsome once, something like Sirius or James. She had been told by Sirius that he was pushing fifty, but age seemed to do nothing to diminish his powerful presence. He exuded power. The only person she had ever seen have that much command over a room by presence alone had been Dumbledore, although to a lesser extent on occasion, James. Voldemort's face, however, was now deeply gaunt and pale, and his eyes were pitch black with a sinister hint of red in their depths. He obviously had been playing around with dangerous dark magic to have taken on such an appearance. She had read somewhere at work that extremely dark magic could sometimes have side effects such as that.

He just eyed them all lazily, his lips twitching into that of a sneer. "Well, well, well… Potter and Black, two of the biggest blood traitors who I have been most anxious to meet." His eyes darted to just behind James, and he smiled cruelly at Lily, his eyes almost looking like he had found a thrill. "And the mudblood... I have heard _lots_ of things about you, not that I believe them, of course. How a mudblood could ever be useful to me is ridiculous at best, Unspeakable or not." He finished by observing Christina curiously. "And I'm afraid you are new to me, my dear, although I can tell you are more than a mudblood. Half, I expect."

James stepped in front of Lily, who he could tell was trembling slightly. He was absolutely furious by what the bastard had just said and had hexed others for less insulting comments many a time before. However, he managed to control his temper this time, knowing that his opponent was not just another idiotic Slytherin prat, and instead merely responded coldly, "What do you want?"

His dark gaze shifted back to James while he twirled his wand casually. "Same strength as your parents, I suspect. They were a challenge that I delighted in." He paused before pointing his wand at him purposefully and narrowing his eyes, "_You_ were the one to break my ward in Diagon Alley. I had my suspicions, of course. I set this trap to find out who it had been for sure. The spell you used is not well-known, and I find it most interesting that you are aware of it." He eyed him with newfound respect before continuing, "I am willing to forgive your transgressions in Diagon Alley if you decide to use your talents in more appropriate ways with me. I also have reason to believe you have other information that would be most helpful to me."

James' face was impassive and furious as he listened to the bastard calmly talk about murdering his parents. How he actually had the audacity to ask him to join him made him even more livid. He replied viciously, "You wish."

Voldemort frowned before looking over at Black. Sirius just scowled before he even got a word out. He had already heard it many times before. "Don't even bother asking."

Voldemort shrugged, obviously not surprised. "No matter. Your mother already has said you are a lost cause. Pity, though. You both could be so useful, being so powerful and from such strong pure-blood families. It's almost disappointing to get rid of you." He turned his attention back to James, looking him over carefully before asking what was really on his mind. His voice held a hint of power as he spoke more forcefully this time, "Tell me about the line of Peverell."

James' face hardened, and he tried to lose all emotion in his expression at this request. Lily was behind him and hidden from Voldemort's view for the most part, but Sirius and Christina had both looked a bit surprised at this odd request. He hadn't really divulged much about his ancestry to Sirius because secrecy was a top priority, and he was sure Christina knew nothing of it at all. He had no idea how Voldemort even knew about that connection, but considering the threats about eliminating the Potter line from last year, he must've found some information somewhere. However, why this information was relevant was the real question. He would be talking with Dumbledore about this later. "No."

Voldemort frowned and looked like he was going to get on with things then. "As you wish."

Before Voldemort could act first, James, thinking of Lily, muttered, "Expecto patronum."

An incredibly bright stag leapt out in front of the four of them, obscuring them from view for a moment as it charged at the Death Eaters. It would send an immediate message to Dumbledore. James backed up, trying to move Lily out of harm's way when he heard an incensed Voldemort hiss out angrily, "Why you insolent..." That's when James saw a bright pink light come flying at them through the dissipating cloud of white light.

James pulled Lily against the brick wall, and he watched Sirius pull Christina the opposite way so that the pink light flew between the two couples, hitting the brick wall behind them. The Death Eaters advanced on them all, starting to throw spells of their own. Voldemort pushed forward, his sole focus on James, as he threw spell after spell his way. James conjured an advanced shield, dodging some of the spells and absorbing others. Voldemort continued flicking spells as if this was taking no effort at all. He taunted him, "If you join me, Potter, and tell me everything I wish to know mind you, I'll even let you keep your mudblood of a wife as a reward."

James' eyes flashed at this, and he sent a few curses of his own at Voldemort while maintaining his shield. Voldemort looked unfazed as he used his hand to flick away one of the curses and conjured a unique shield to block the others. He raised an eyebrow, sneering at getting a rise out of him. "No? Well, if she's not important to you…"

James felt his heart still as the same bright pink light Voldemort had tried to send at him initially zoomed behind him toward his wife. James immediately turned, his face paling at noticing not just the pink spell, but two other dark spells flying at her from the two Death Eaters she had been dueling. She was backed into the corner of the alley with no place to run. However, as she turned around a bit so he could see her face, he saw that her eyes were dark in concentration and her lips were moving as her wand twirled in an odd sort of way just as all three spells seemed to converge on her.

James felt completely numb as those precious few seconds flew by, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop the spells from coming into contact with her. It was as if his whole world was crumbling before him. She was his everything.

However, what shocked everyone, including himself, was the ear-splitting sound of shattered glass that erupted when all of the spells finally reached her. Everyone placed their hands over their ears at the sound, their faces squinting at the pain it seemed to inflict upon them. The two Death Eaters she had been dueling were knocked off of their feet from whatever magical blast she had caused. It took everyone a few seconds to get their bearings again, but James was overjoyed when he saw that Lily was still standing, although she was now breathing heavily as she leaned against the brick wall behind her in obvious exhaustion.

Voldemort was clearly incensed, but he now was looking at Lily in a whole new light. His voice held a certain amount of awe as he spoke eagerly, "Such a powerful and gifted little witch for a mudblood… Perhaps you could be as useful as I was told." He smirked evilly just then, gesturing regally to his Death Eaters. "I have new orders." He paused dramatically before stating almost in amusement, "Bring me the mudblood…alive."

James saw Lily pale even further as all seven Death Eaters simply stopped what they were doing and started to make their way over towards her. He would never let them have her. He quickly waved his wand grandly, causing five out of the seven Death Eaters to be transfigured into ducks, which waddled around aimlessly for a few seconds before disappearing entirely. The remaining two had thrown up shields just in time. Sirius had reached Lily by this point and was now helping her fend off the remaining two Death Eaters. James didn't even want to think why he didn't see Christina standing anywhere, but he turned his attention immediately back to Voldemort. The bastard was now pointing his wand at James furiously as he hissed out in a higher pitched voice, "What did you just do?"

James' eyes narrowed at him, and he couldn't resist bating him. He blamed it on being a Marauder. "Well, if it acts like a duck, talks like a—"

Voldemort's eyes flashed, and he waved his hand aggressively, causing James to fly into the opposite brick wall forcefully. James groaned at the impact, feeling a throbbing pain throughout his whole body when he finally hit the ground. He hadn't been expecting that. Voldemort continued to have his wand on him, giving James no time to even think about where his own wand had fallen when he had been thrown around. "Crucio!"

James felt an unbearable amount of pain flying through his system and couldn't help yelling out about it. It was excruciating. He vaguely heard Lily crying out for him, but he couldn't really focus on anything. After what seemed like forever, the agony lifted suddenly. He didn't even have time to process what had happened as he was quickly dragged to his feet, thrown against the wall violently, and had Voldemort's wand at his neck. On a perusal of why the sudden shift, he noticed Dumbledore standing at the alley entrance, standing calmly with his wand out. "Hello, Tom."

Voldemort's eyes seemed to darken, and he tightened his hold on James. "My name is Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore. You should know that by now."

Dumbledore frowned. He could see Christina, lying near the back of the alley obviously hit with some spell. He could tell she was still alive, but only just. Sirius was holding Lily up because she looked unexplainably exhausted. She was also crying and looked extremely upset at seeing James being held in such a precarious position. There were only two Death Eaters lying on the ground, seemingly taken care of for the moment, but from the looks of things, there had been more than just the two Death Eaters and Voldemort. His steady gaze returned to Riddle. He looked considerably different from when he had come to apply for the DADA position a few years back. "My apologies, Tom, but—"

Voldemort interrupted snidely, "—old habits die hard. I remember, thank you. I'll kill him if you move any closer."

To the surprise of everyone, James snorted in obvious disbelief. This caused Voldemort to turn all of his attention back on him. He pressed his wand deeper into his throat. "You _doubt_ me, Potter?"

James sneered right back before whispering pointedly so only the two of them would hear, "No, you just won't. Not if you want information only I can give."

Voldemort looked surprised and was thoroughly intrigued at these words, although James really had no idea why the line of Peverell was so important to him. However, that surprise was exactly what James had wanted, considering he used the moment to move his hands up in front of him, palms facing outward. Voldemort was immediately thrown back into the opposite brick wall when James used wandless magic. The look of shock on Voldemort's face was worth everything though. The bastard got up quickly, scowling before touching his arm. He instantly disappeared along with his two unconscious minions.

James slumped against the brick wall wearily, but quickly righted himself when that actually hurt more than standing up. Lily flew in front of him as she yelled at him, "Oh my GOD! What am I going to do with you? Bating VOLDEMORT? Are you CRAZY?" She paused to take a breath before looking back at him somewhat more normally, her green eyes full of concern this time as she asked more softly, "And are you ok?"

James smiled grimly at his wife, who was trying to look mad, but really wasn't. He ran his hands over her arms soothingly, but ultimately just ended up supporting her in his arms because she was so listless. Whatever magic she had used must have wiped her out completely. "Sorry, sweetie. I'm fine, I think." He wandlessly summoned his fallen wand before he looked back at Sirius, his face changed to that of concern. "Where's Christina?"

Sirius frowned, his face furrowed. "She was hit with a dark spell. I stabilized her as best I could just as you did that transfiguration— which was way cool by the way. I'm going to take her to the hospital. She should be fine."

Dumbledore interrupted at that, "I have a portkey to take you all back to Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey can look you all over. We should steer clear of St. Mungo's. He's already monitoring the Ministry so it's probable to assume he is watching the hospital as well."

Sirius nodded and scooped Christina up into his arms, holding her steadily as they all took the portkey. They all landed awkwardly in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey, who must've been waiting for them, immediately started working on Christina as Sirius placed her on a hospital bed and remained with her. Dumbledore turned back to James and Lily, looking at James as if to scold him. "You really shouldn't have bated him, James. He already wanted to speak with you. All you have done is given him more reason to." He paused as he observed Lily, who still looked weak on her feet. His blue eyes became concerned. "Lily, are you alright?"

When Lily shook her head wearily at Dumbledore's question, James, also worried, propped his wife up and helped her lie down onto one of the beds. He frowned over the situation. "She used some really advanced magic. None of us had any idea what she had done, not even Voldemort. He said he wanted to take her alive, probably to find out what she had done and what else she knows."

Lily just sighed, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of James' fingers running along her arm soothingly. "It was an experiment. I wasn't sure if it would work completely. Obviously, it wasn't perfect, but it did the job."

Dumbledore chuckled, his blue eyes twinkling. "The Dept. of Mysteries strikes again. You really shouldn't conduct your experiments in such a dangerous situation though, my dear."

James' face furrowed as he thought about what may have happened to her if those three spells had hit her. "I don't think she would have made it if she hadn't."

The obvious strain in James' voice caused Lily to open her eyes back up. She gave him a pretty smile and patted his hand to show him that she was perfectly fine. "I knew it would work in some way otherwise I wouldn't have done it. I was just worried if I would have enough power to pull it off. It just has a few kinks is all."

James rolled his eyes playfully. "Only you would call a painfully loud noise and magic that absorbs almost all of your energy a few kinks, Lils."

Madam Pomfrey made her way over just then, bustling about. "Ok, Mrs. Potter, where does it hurt?"

Lily chuckled weakly. "I think I just need a restorative potion and some rest. I suppose I have a bruise on my arm that hurts a bit too."

James looked up and noticed that Christina was still lying on her bed and remained unconscious, but Sirius was also lying unconscious on the bed next to her. He was a bit confused. Sirius had appeared ok he had thought. "What's wrong with Sirius?"

Madam Pomfrey fumbled with a few potions, trying to find the right ones for Lily. "Oh, he's fine. He had a large cut on his leg and more than a few bruises, but I gave him a dreamless sleep potion instead of a pain potion like I told him it would be. He should rest."

They all shared a laugh at that. Madam Pomfrey always had to trick Sirius to keep him in the hospital wing, at least when class was not involved. James was surprised that Sirius hadn't caught on yet. He then turned to Dumbledore. "I'm sure she'll do the same to me. Can you contact Alastor and tell him that the reason there are five ducks sitting in an Auror holding cell is because they are Death Eaters? The reversal is quite complicated and of my own venture so they'll just have to remain ducks for the time being. Serves them right for trying to do anything to Lily."

Lily grinned slightly at that, squeezing his hand weakly. "That was pretty funny by the way."

He shot her one of his sneaky grins while Dumbledore chuckled. "I will definitely see to that. I'll also contact Lauren and let her know you both won't be returning this evening. She may come back here then, seeing as school resumes in a few days anyway."

James nodded and watched him go. He turned his attention back to Lily, who was swallowing her restorative potion. Madam Pomfrey immediately handed her a second potion, which was likely dreamless sleep. She grabbed it, but then smiled over at James. "Night, James. Love you."

He brought her hand that he was still holding to his lips and gave it a quick kiss, silently thanking the powers that be that she was going to be just fine. He didn't know what he would have done if he had lost her. He vowed that she would never be in a situation like that again without him there to protect her. "Love you too, beautiful."

She downed the potion and almost instantly, her eyes closed and her breathing deepened as she fell asleep. Madam Pomfrey turned toward him, looking him over suspiciously. "So?"

James gave her a sheepish look, but didn't even think to lie. She always seemed to channel his mother. "My back, my legs, my arms, and I had the Cruciatus curse for a bit."

She gave him a crazed look, obviously infuriated with him for not taking care of himself. "And you're still standing up?"

She merely pointed menacingly towards the bed that he had stayed in during practically all of his hospital visits during his Hogwarts years. James just sighed as he let go of his wife's hand and went to lie down. He hated hospitals.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35 – Times Get Worse

James lifted his glasses, placing them on top of his head as he rubbed his tired hazel eyes before slipping them carelessly back onto his nose. He had been sitting in the Potter library with Sirius for the last four hours studying way too damn much. Tons of defensive strategies and spells, more than he ever cared to remember, were clouding his mind. Before all of this hell, they had grabbed a brief lunch just after they had spent all morning sparring and whatnot in the training room downstairs. As a result, he was extremely tired and more than a little cranky. He finally just threw the book he had been looking at roughly onto the floor. Sirius glanced up at him at the sound, but didn't comment about the aggression. He looked equally miserable.

James simply grumbled to himself before reluctantly grabbing a second book and opening it to the relevant chapter on certain dark curses they would be tested on tomorrow, although he barely focused on it. Well, there was that test, the test on defensive spell work, and the one where they would be sparring with a Senior Auror. Did he need to mention that this was all on top of going in early and completing a full work-out and listening through another three hours of lecture on new material they would need to learn? James really had no idea how they could cram so much into one day. After they took these tests, they would get to start doing fieldwork half-time on real assignments. He wasn't even sure where the time to fit that sort of thing in would be. Sirius finally addressed him, "Don't you know those spells already, Jim?"

James shot him a dark look. Sirius always called him that when it was just the two of them or when he was stressed just to piss him off. "Don't call me that, _Siri_. And so what if I do? I'm sick of studying. I want to relax on my weekends, not have them full of work. I know Voldemort isn't resting so we shouldn't be, but everyone needs _some_ type of a break."

Sirius shot him a glare at the hated nickname from his crappy family, but sighed over their situation. He clearly looked just as temperamental as James was as he flipped aggressively through his own reading. James knew that he hated to study, especially when it was forced. Sirius' gaze was hard as he seemed to bore a hole into his reading. "I know, and technically, I'm sure we'll both be fine, but we can never be too careful. Alastor has a tendency to throw the two of us a curveball on purpose because he knows we're good."

James merely grunted in response and reluctantly started looking over the chapter he had opened up to. He hated being an over-achiever, although he supposed it was a good thing they were working so hard now because they would likely be full Aurors by the end of summer at the pace they were going. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing though. There was an increasing desperation within the Ministry for fully qualified Auror-trained individuals, mostly because they were slowly being picked off by Voldemort and his followers.

With Voldemort and his stupid Death Eaters out causing havoc over the last month, everyone had been put on edge. Voldemort himself had only been spotted a few times throughout the turmoil, but his Death Eaters seemed to be everywhere. There had been acts of vandalism, torture, and death all over the magical and muggle communities alike. Each seemed to be suffering through their own unexplainable disasters. If people had been scared before, it was nothing compared to how scared people were now.

Besides the attacks from just over a month prior, there were wizards and witches being hung in the middle of the villages for all the world to see, shops were burglarized and tons of items were actively being pilfered, Gringotts had tightened their security so much that people were avoiding the bank now too, there were threatening messages written in blood on the ground and all over the shops, and dark marks seemed to be appearing everywhere. The muggle community kept writing things off as merely isolated natural or criminal disasters, but the magical community had decided to print detailed reports about what was being done in such a way that when reading between the lines of the reports, only one message could be found: don't leave your homes for fear of death. Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade had become ghost towns as a result. Hogsmeade visits at Hogwarts had also been cancelled.

James sighed mostly to himself before his gaze strayed around the library once again. He caught his great-grandfather's eye briefly, but the portrait just pointed purposefully down at the books James was supposed to be focusing on. How unfair— even his family portraits were against him. He desperately needed to get out of there. His concentration had reached its limit. Maybe he could go for a fly or something to clear his head. That always helped relax him tremendously. Sirius interrupted his musings again, only this time he seemed clearly irritated at James' growing disinterest, "Prongs, stop staring off into space and continue studying already. If I have to do it, so do you. You're thinking about Lily, aren't you?"

James gave him a wicked grin. "I wasn't, but now I am."

Sirius just shook his head as he resumed flipping through some of the pages of the book in front of him, obviously deeming James a lost cause now. James smiled to himself as he thought about Lily. He hadn't seen her all day since he and Sirius had been so busy with Auror stuff. He knew that she had decided to hang out with Christina for the day somewhere in the manor, but that was about it. It had taken her a full week to recover from her strenuous magic use in the alley near the Ministry. Whatever spell she had used had basically drained her magical core in such a way that it needed to be built back up slowly rather than like when one used simple, everyday magic. Christina had been hurt that day too, and it had been a horrible dark curse— one that knocked you unconscious and slowly started creating strong seizures. However, because she had gotten immediate treatment, the problem had been quickly remedied.

James frowned as he thought about that day. He had no idea what kind of magic Lily had been working with because his stubborn wife refused to give any information on the matter to anyone. He doubted even Sturgis had gotten anything out of her, and he worked in the DOM! He supposed he was happy that she seemed to at least be back to her normal self once again. Everyone had been more than a little put off by the attacks, but despite the continued efforts by the Death Eaters, they and the rest of the Order seemed to be coming to terms with everything and were focusing on how they could counter their advances or avoid them altogether. There had been constant planning and evaluating over the last month in determining the best course of action to respond to Voldemort and his followers (the numbers of which seemed to be growing by the minute). It was enough to drive most sane people mad, but Lily's presence seemed to make him feel better just as he was sure he made her feel more at ease; well, there was that and the fact that he knew they were doing the right thing by countering their ridiculous and prejudiced efforts.

He continued daydreaming about his gorgeous wife until he felt Sirius kick him in his shin. He shot his best mate a glare as he rubbed his now throbbing shin for a moment. He reluctantly returned his attention to the list of dark curses they were supposed to be familiar with. Alastor was so cruel. He tried to avoid the urge to just say 'fuck it,' and mentally started going through them in his head, but that ended quickly when his wife's sweet voice tore his attention away a few minutes later, "Awww…my boys are actually studying. I'm so proud."

James felt his mouth drop slightly at the sight of her, and he tried to ignore the whistle and catcalls his best mate sent at her. Sure, he hadn't seen her since that morning, but she was now all dolled up in a pretty floral skirt and a dark purple blouse, her red hair curled slightly and pulled back some with a barrette. She even was wearing a bit of make-up. "Lils, you look…wow."

She blushed slightly over their reactions and waved them off, coming up just behind James to run a hand over the back of his head soothingly in greeting. "Christina looks way better, but thanks nonetheless... She was called away about an hour ago for a short stint to correct some apparition accident, but she should be back anytime now though. We were bored and decided to dress ourselves up for fun, especially since we can't exactly go out very much right now..." She trailed off, probably thinking about all of the danger growing around them. She sighed wearily before continuing, "I just came to tell you I made dinner and that you both should come and take a break. You've both been at this all day."

James leaned his head back so he could look up and see Lily better, furrowing his brow. "I thought we told the house elves to go elsewhere for awhile since they were hounding us a bit?"

She rolled her eyes playfully down at him, giving him a wry smile. "I said _I made dinner_, not _I had dinner made_, silly."

Sirius eyed the two of them staring at each other for a moment, a sneaky smile slowly stretching across his face. He then proceeded to ruin their moment by jumping up quickly and pulling Lily into his arms unexpectedly. "You can cook! And you look like this! Run away with me, gorgeous…"

Lily blushed furiously at the surprising attention and tried to shrug Sirius away, but he wouldn't budge so she just ended up standing there awkwardly in his arms, obviously disgruntled over being manhandled. "Get over yourself, Black. Besides, you have Christina."

James just chuckled at the two of them as he started piling up some of their books, not really worried in the least by Sirius, of all people, trying to take advantage of his wife. Sirius smiled teasingly at Lily, his grey eyes all mischievous. "You know that Chrissy can't cook to save her life. I swear, I left her alone in my kitchen for five minutes, and she burnt _water_. I have to cook everything. Hmmm…imagine the 'cooking' you and I could do together…"

Lily's blush seemed to deepen over Sirius' insinuations, although she giggled slightly at his comments about Christina. She tried another valiant effort to move away from Sirius only to be denied. She finally just replied, "I already know about Christina's poor cooking skills… I told her she couldn't touch anything when she was with me in the kitchen."

Sirius turned his attention back to James, who had stood up stretching a bit as he continued to silently watch the two of them in amusement. Sirius purposefully planted a slow kiss on Lily's cheek, staring at his best mate the entire time. "Scared your girl will like me better, Prongs?"

James just raised an eyebrow. "Not really. As I've mentioned to Christina before, Lily would kill you in two minutes flat. In fact, I would suggest running away soon before she pulls out her wand."

Sirius sighed before pouting at Lily with his best puppy-dog eyes. He did do them rather well, being a dog animagus and all. "You love me, don't you, Red? Forget the messy-haired man."

Lily's pretty green eyes seemed to sparkle as she suddenly shifted from looking a tad uncomfortable to smiling sweetly at him. She leaned in a bit closer before saying innocently and a bit seductively, "I don't think you could satisfy me, Black."

Sirius looked at her shocked by her feistiness, but that wasn't all— he felt a stinging sensation run through his arms so he instantly let go of her, yelping in pain. He heard James snickering at his unfortunate predicament of now having Lily eyeing him with her wand out. Sirius just grinned back at his best mate's girl, pretending to be nonchalant and like nothing had even happened. "So what did you make?"

Lily just shook her head at him, putting her wand away as Sirius seemed to have returned to normal. "You are nothing but stomach. Pasta and homemade sauce, an old recipe of my mother's."

Sirius pumped a fist in the air before running crazily from the library shouting, "YES! GARLIC BREAD!"

Lily simply shook her head and moved to follow him, but she only made it a few steps out into the hallway before she felt James take a hold of her wrist only to twist her around to face him. "And where do you think you're going, sexy?"

She loved when he looked at her like he couldn't get enough of her, and this was definitely one of those times. His hazel eyes seemed to be staring right through her. She cocked her head, emulating as much innocence as she could despite her heart beating more rapidly at his presence. "Dinner?"

He closed the space between them, his hands cupping her face gently. "In a minute."

Her eyes fluttered closed as his mouth connected with hers. He coaxed her lips open with his own, kissing her in a way that made her forget just about everything. She felt he was still too far away so her hands slid down his chest and around his back to bring his hard body completely up against hers. Then one of James' hands buried into her hair, and she was positive there wasn't anything better than when it was just the two of them completely lost in each other.

She eventually pulled away, but only when the need to breathe suddenly became important. That's when she realized she had been pushed up against the wall a bit, but she couldn't help feeling utterly content anyway. He rested his hands on the wall on either side of her head as he gazed down at her with that charming grin she had fallen madly in love with. He kissed her cheek before saying softly, "You look beautiful, you know. Not that you don't always look beautiful…"

She smiled up at him, her arms still around him so he couldn't move away from her just yet. "You're sweet." Her expression became concerned though when she could tell that he was tired. She ran a hand over the side of his face before saying decisively, "You need a break. I'm sure both you and Sirius know more than enough for tomorrow. You've both been at it since early this morning. When I sleep in later than you, there's a problem, James."

He chuckled. "A break would be heaven. Well, it would only be heaven if you're with me."

She shook her head at him with a sigh. "Still full of charm... Come on, you're probably just as hungry as Sirius so we should get in there before he eats everything."

He let her push the two of them away from the wall and thoroughly enjoyed the view of watching her walk in front of him as they headed toward the dining room. He felt like the luckiest man alive for having her in his life. She made everything better, particularly when she looked like that at the moment. He was so enamored by the sway of her hips in that skirt of hers that he almost ran into her when she stopped short in the doorway. "Black!"

James looked up to see what she was so concerned with and started snickering. Sirius had not waited for either of them and had dug into the meal she had made, which wasn't exactly a problem, but the fact that he was a complete mess with sauce all around his face while he continued to shovel pasta in his mouth barbarically was definitely not the nicest sight to look at. Sirius just looked up as if nothing was wrong, swallowing his latest bite of pasta. "This is fantastic, Red!" He paused to eat more food before continuing with his mouth full, "Iloveyou…willyoumarryme?"

James continued to snicker at the look of complete awe and disgrace on Lily's face as she watched his best mate simultaneously eat and propose to her. She responded indignantly, "Thank you, but no. And do you have to eat like that? It's gross. I'm surprised Judy hasn't said anything to you about it."

James' mother's portrait merely sighed. "I did try, Lily. I can't say it helped much."

Lily shook her head, still amazed at the amount of food Sirius was putting away. It was a good thing she had made tons. She sat in the chair James had pulled out for her and began fixing plates for the two of them. Sirius decided to look up then, wiping his face off with a napkin finally before giving them both his roguish grin. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at them both. "And just what took you two so long?"

James didn't miss a beat and just replied with his usual charm, "Nothing that required an audience, Padfoot."

He ignored the barking laughter from his best mate and turned instead to watch Lily blush furiously at his comment; he loved making her blush. His father's portrait had started chuckling too, but it was his mother's portrait that responded in clear reprimand, "James Harry Potter!"

James shot his mother his innocent smile. "What?"

The portrait just sighed and shook her head. Lily took that moment to hit her husband lightly on the arm. She was about to add her own comment or two, but they all were distracted by a loud crack coming from the living room. Sirius jumped up like a shot and ran from the dining room with energy only a small child should possess. James and Lily shared looks when they both heard a familiar yelp from the living room and then silence. Lily merely turned back toward her plate before saying dryly, "Sounds like whatever they're doing doesn't require an audience either."

James immediately started laughing, and he could hear his parents' portraits chuckling once again as well. Lily had the sort of humor where it always caught you off guard. He ran a hand through Lily's hair and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

She looked over at him, her pretty green eyes sparkling. "I love you too."

They both recommenced eating with James soon echoing Sirius' sentiments about the amazing food. It took a few minutes, but Sirius and Christina eventually made their way into the dining room. With only a little bit of teasing about their delayed entry, they soon were hearing about Christina's hour or so away. Christina's brow knitted worriedly as she started to tell them about it, "Well, it had sounded just like any other apparition accident, but then, I got there with Hailey, my partner, and well…" She shook her head before looking out at them all in deep concern. "It was Edgar."

All of their eyebrows rose at this. James spoke first, "Edgar? What happened?"

Christina sighed, still somewhat upset. "He couldn't really tell me with Hailey there, but he was spooked. I could tell. I think something happened, and when he tried to get away fast, he splinched himself. The only reason I know this is because he said, 'I have to get things in _order_ so I can make the _meeting tonight_.' Trivial, I know, but he did emphasize those words enough for me to get the point. His wife is four months pregnant too; she's due at the end of June. He seemed really worried about her, especially if someone's keeping an eye on him or his family now. I understand why he was so distressed, particularly with leaving his wife pregnant and alone if something was to happen to him. He was lucky this time, but whatever he's been doing for Dumbledore must've been discovered. I'm sure we'll hear more tonight."

Lily frowned. "This just adds fuel to the theory that some of us are being targeted. This is not good."

James shook his head, looking a bit weary. "It could just be isolated. Let's not jump to conclusions. We have the meeting in another couple of hours, and we're going to be discussing some of this then."

Sirius nodded, agreeing with James. "That's true. I'm sure we'll all be hearing about it tonight."

They gradually finished their meal, with all of them turning their discussion to lighter topics. They had later tonight for the sour ones. It wasn't long before Sirius and Christina decided to have a couple of hours to themselves before the meeting tonight, leaving James and Lily pulling all of the dishes into the kitchen. Lily flicked her wand around a few times and got all the dishes to start cleaning themselves before turning back to James, who she noticed was staring at her with that sneaky smile of his, like he was up to something. She eyed him warily. "What?"

He just chuckled. "Nothing. Let's go outside for a bit."

She could clearly see the mischief in his hazel eyes, but she couldn't quite figure out why he wanted to go outside. "James, it's still cold out. It's February. Why in the world do you want to go outside?"

A casual flick of his wand caused her to jump. She looked down and noticed her skirt had become a pair of her jeans. He was still grinning at her, now looking a bit smug. "Excuses, excuses. Now you won't be so cold, although I'm disappointed by the lack of skirt… I'll just change it back when we get back inside. We're also magical and can cast warming charms. Plus, if all else fails, _I'll_ keep you warm, silly. It's my job."

She merely gave him a look, but she couldn't really be mad at him when he looked and acted so sweet. It also was his break from working, and she knew he wanted to spend it with her. That was why she didn't protest when he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward where they kept their cloaks. As soon as they were all bundled up and outside, she hugged his arm to her as they walked out into their vast back yard, which was covered in snow. "So, Mr. 'I Want to Go Outside,' what exactly did you want to do out here?"

His hazel eyes lit up over whatever mischief he was planning. His smile was hard to not smile back at though. "Oh, nothing. Just combining the two best things in my life… Accio."

Lily remained incredibly puzzled until she saw a broom zooming toward them, stopping in front of James for him to mount it. Lily began pulling away from him, horrified at the very idea of flying, but she didn't get very far with James still holding onto her. "No, no, no, no… Uh-uh. No way. I refuse."

James laughed and wrapped his arms around her from behind tightly so she wouldn't run away like she had just tried to. "Awww, it's not that bad. In fact, it's amazing and one of the best things about being magical."

She shook her head, frightened beyond belief. "James, no. The last time I was on a broom was in first year when they made us learn. It was awkward as hell then, and it still is. I hate flying. I like to keep my feet securely on the ground, thank you."

James refused to give in, holding her tighter as he chuckled. "Then, it's my job to teach you to love it."

Lily was just as stubborn as he was. "I'm afraid of heights."

He grinned into her neck. "Well, they say to overcome your fears is to face them head on, so how about it, _Gryffindor_?"

She pouted at his teasing, but still adamantly shook her head at the prospect of flying. "No. I've already tried it, and I don't like it."

He could tell she was more than a little uncomfortable at the idea so he tried to ease her fears. He spoke softly near her ear, "When you tried it by yourself, you didn't get a good experience because you weren't comfortable with it. Now, I'll let you sit in front so there's no way you could possibly fall off unless something were to happen to me, which, of course, is not going to happen. I was the best flyer at Hogwarts. I'll be doing all of the steering and the flying. You'll just be along for the ride, Lils. I promise not to let anything happen to you. Please?"

His pleading was so unfair, and he knew it. However, she also knew that he would do anything for her so she supposed she could suffer through a broom ride for him. James would never let anything happen to her. She finally just replied back wearily, "You _had_ to let your ego escape, didn't you?"

He laughed at that, but he could tell her resolve had crumbled. He kissed the side of her head. "Come on, love."

She watched him mount the broom easily before he pulled her towards him and helped her sit in front of him. Lily still felt horrendously awkward and unsure about the whole thing, but if James noticed, he didn't say anything. He wrapped his left arm tightly around her waist and reached out with his right hand to cover her two hands which were clinging to the broom handle as if her life depended on it. He rested his chin on her shoulder before saying, "Ok, now, you have to lean down a little more so your forearms are parallel to the broom. It'll help me so I can steer more easily." As soon as she had done that, he then asked, "Ready?"

She shook her head at the question, and he laughed. She could practically see his wicked grin on his face. "You'll have fun, Lily love. You'll see."

And with that, he sent them off, causing Lily to shriek and tense up at the sudden burst of speed. His laughter ringing in her ears, however, did help her to relax some as he flew them both higher into the sky. Lily had her eyes tightly closed in fright, but could feel the wind as it hit her face and could determine that they were likely flying extremely high into the sky. She soon felt them level out and slow somewhat, but she knew they were nowhere near the ground. She then heard James' teasing voice in her ear, "Your eyes are closed, aren't they?"

If she could have hit him for teasing her, she would have, but her hands were never leaving the broom. She chose to nod resignedly instead. He kissed the side of her head before replying, "Sweetie, you have to look. It's the best part. Just don't look down."

Lily shook her head and bit back a shriek when he shifted them suddenly while slowing them to a stop in mid-air. He leaned away from her some, and she literally freaked. Her words were terrified, "What are you doing?"

He chuckled and reached for her hands, tugging them off of the broom and pulling her so she was sitting up in front of him, his arms securely holding her up. He could feel her body trembling a bit so he immediately tried to soothe her, "Lily, relax… I've got you, and you're perfectly safe. Now, open those pretty green eyes of yours and look at the beautiful view you'll never see from anywhere but in the sky."

She knew deep down she was being silly, particularly because James' strong arms were securely around her, so she reluctantly opened her eyes a crack and was surprised by what she saw. The view was spectacular. She could see out for miles and miles. The starry night sky seemed endless as she gazed along the amazing mountainous landscape all covered in snowfall. She knew the Potter grounds were lovely, but seeing them and beyond from up here was breathtaking. Lily was surprised that something like this was something James must've seen all of the time. No wonder he loved it up here. "Wow."

He could tell she was finally a bit more comfortable up there with him, which made him smile. "Worth coming up here with me, right?"

Lily nodded, biting her lip as she continued to look out at their amazing view, still trying not to think about the fact that they were hundreds of feet in the air. "I suppose so, even if you did trick me into it."

He immediately replied, "Well, not really…"

Her head turned so she could meet his hazel eyes, which looked more than a little devious. He was not going to get away with his 'evading the truth' game with her. Her knowing look prompted him to continue, "Well, ok, maybe just a little…"

She couldn't help giggling at him when he caved under her gaze. He smiled at her for a moment before he kissed her lips briefly. When he pulled back, he wiggled his eyebrows at her in a playful manner. "So are you ready for some _real_ flying now, Lils?"

Her green eyes widened at the suggestion and she was about to protest, but he had already leaned them both forward, causing the broom to shoot through the sky at high speeds. Lily couldn't help it when she let loose a few shrieks as they zigzagged all over the sky, but at least this time, it was hard for either of them to tell if they were shrieks of fright or delight. Her eyes were also wide open finally.

Sirius' head immediately turned when he saw his best mate and his wife walk into the top floor of the abandoned warehouse the Order chose to meet at. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the two of them. They looked just a little too happy, they must've recently showered (and for James, this would have been his second of the day), and they had clearly changed clothes. He simply could not let such a rare moment to tease them both mercilessly pass up. He was sure his trademark Cheshire grin was firmly in place as he stated loudly for all persons present to hear, "Well, look at you two lovebirds… I'd say you two had some fun during the last couple of hours."

There were obvious chuckles at his insinuations among the Order members who had already arrived. Only Christina gave him a look for his commentary. She alone knew he was being a bit hypocritical, considering what the two of them had gotten up to back at his place. Lily blushed some, but James didn't even look fazed. His eyes were gleaming with excitement as he spoke, "We went FLYING."

Christina looked over at Lily, utterly shocked. "You, of all people, got on a broom? Willingly?"

Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes, scoffing. "Right… Like I'd ever do that willingly…" Her green eyes shimmered mischievously though as she continued, "But you can bet I got him back when we finally landed. I got him with so much snow you couldn't even tell who he was!"

James just chuckled, running a hand over Lily's back as he led her into the room. "Yeah, yeah, but I won the snowball fight in the end, naturally, and then we—"

Lily clamped a hand over his mouth. She instantly interrupted him in a rushed tone, "Yeah, I think that's enough."

James was still laughing softly as she led them into a pair of chairs where their group usually sat, both of them ignoring the amused looks they were getting from everyone. Sirius sized James up. "So, Lily on a broom, huh?"

James pushed him in his shoulder, but smiled, considering he was just as impressed with himself. "It took some convincing initially, but I think she might even do it again with me one time."

Lily gave him a look, but even Sirius knew she didn't mean it and she was merely toying with James. "In your dreams, Potter. I suppose it…" She drifted off as she looked beyond the both of them, her eyes darkening obviously in anger. It was a look both boys remembered all too well. However, she didn't turn on either of them, thankfully. "REMUS JOHN LUPIN! Just what have you done to yourself?"

James and Sirius both flinched for Remus, who must've snuck in quietly when all of the attention had been on James and Lily. Lily's voice had gotten higher, and she was not happy so James turned around to get a good look at him. He looked more sickly than he had in a very long time, which unnerved James too. He quickly looked around and noticed that more of the Order was very interested in why Lily was suddenly yelling at Remus as if his life were at stake. None of them were really aware of Remus' condition. He hoped Lily would remember that in her angry state. Remus tried to fend her off, but he was definitely not at 100%. He might not have even been at 60%. "Lily, I thought—"

Lily interrupted him, looking even more angry and concerned as she got up in his face to look him over more closely, "No. You didn't think. What did I tell you about this batch of potion, Remus? You don't get it, do you? You could DIE. You had to take every dose at exact intervals. You clearly missed one. When? When did you miss one? I need to know."

Remus sighed, sagging into his chair and no longer trying to fight her as she placed a hand on his forehead and took his pulse with the other. She was a force to be reckoned with when he was at full strength, and he was far from that. "Two days ago. I took it late, and then I took the next one at the right time. I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

Lily's face paled as she backed away from him. "Right. Next time, maybe you'll listen to me, won't you? I'll be right back."

She instantly apparated away, leaving everyone highly confused. Remus closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, James, who was now right in front of him, could see the amber in his pale blue eyes much more clearly than he ought to. The full moon wasn't for two more days. That normally didn't happen until the night before. Remus sighed up at James. "I should've listened to her." He seemed to be looking faraway in his sickly state. "So this is what it feels like to be poisoned…"

The Order members began making comments about whatever was going on so Sirius jumped up and tried to keep everyone away from Remus, circumventing their questions with ease due to the Marauders' experience with making up whatever bullshit stories they could come up with about Remus and his 'furry little problem' while they had been at school. James sat down next to Remus, intending to make sure he remained conscious. "You're going to be fine. Lily obviously went to go make a remedy. You best stay awake."

Remus nodded, his eyes closed. "I know."

Dumbledore soon arrived and got things underway, despite hearing about Remus. James couldn't help but think that this was a good idea though. It was better to keep the focus off of Remus and his condition. The Order discussed the whole apparition accident that had happened with Edgar, but Dumbledore didn't think that the incident was related to the Order per se. He actually thought it was more to do with Edgar being a vocal 'light' pure-blood family member. Unlike his older siblings, Amelia and Robert, Edgar made sure his voice was heard in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and as such, he was not favored by Voldemort and his followers. That made everyone start to think about other vocal members of that department as well as in other departments.

Sturgis also brought up the fact that Augustus Rockwood, a member of the DOM, seemed to be watching Lily again. James had frowned considerably at that. That had started shortly after the attack near the Ministry. Christina had been meeting her directly after work everyday, but particularly whenever he and Sirius couldn't so she was never alone when she left. Lily never left any of her work available to the naked eye anyway, even while she was at work. The only way to ever know what Lily did would be to look through her mind, but thanks to Occlumency, that would be next to impossible to do. Lily was rather proficient alone with that branch of magic, but with her necklace, she could rival James or Dumbledore.

They were in the middle of planning a possible raid of a known Death Eater hang out when Lily finally apparated back. She was holding a goblet and walked straight towards Remus. Her interruption caused all conversation to falter because most were extremely curious about whatever was going on. Lily looked extremely worried as she handed the goblet over to Remus. "Here, drink all of this. It's probably nasty, but it will alleviate all of the ingredients from the other potion. And yes, that means you will be stuck with nothing this time… Unfortunately, that's the only way for me to get rid of the inaccurate amount of…ummm, stuff floating through your system due to taking the potions too close to one another."

Hestia spoke up hesitantly, considering she worked with the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad with Christina and knew a few things about healing as a result, "No offense, Lily, but you aren't a Healer or anything. Maybe he should go to a Healer before he drinks whatever you made?"

Alastor was the first to speak, despite the Marauders wanting to, "Nah, lass. Lily is the only one who can help him at the moment."

The Marauders all looked over at Alastor curiously, but they weren't exactly surprised that he may have figured it out. Dumbledore interjected lightly, "Yes, that is right. Hestia, I'm afraid Lily will be the only one who can take care of the problem. I'm sure whatever she has made will do the trick."

Remus hadn't even paid any attention to the others and had taken the goblet from Lily while Dumbledore had been talking, downing it entirely. Everyone watched as Remus gagged a bit at the concoction and started breathing heavier as the potion flew through his system. James watched him closely and noted in relief that the amber in his eyes began to recede. Remus leaned back in the chair, still looking pale. He smiled up at his friends weakly to reassure them that he was fine before turning back to Lily. "Thanks."

Lily was also watching him closely. She grabbed his hand and checked his pulse again. After a few moments, she let go and sat down next to him wearily. "Don't you ever do that to me again, Remus. And I really am sorry about this month."

James jutted in, "Don't worry about it, Lils."

Sirius and Peter nodded in agreement with James' assertion, implying that they all would help Remus out this time if he was going to have a regular transformation. Dumbledore smiled at them all before he drew everyone back into the discussion. He was rather good at moving past awkward situations or avoiding information that needed to be kept quiet. They continued discussing their possible raid and mentioned a few other things before Dumbledore became a bit more serious than before. "I also have heard from Alastor some rather disturbing news from the Ministry. Barty Crouch is pushing for allowing the use of Unforgivables by Magical Law Enforcement personnel. Although he has not permanently been made Head of Magical Law Enforcement, he is the acting Head and is likely to be voted in. The _missing_ Melody Tripnor was supposed to be taking that position, but alas, we are left with a poorer choice as a result. Now, take heed, he has a lot of support on this. However, allowing such magic to be used by our side would only be lowering us all to Voldemort's level. There is no benefit in killing the Death Eaters, and there are much better ways to handle an attack than by using the remaining Unforgivables. Besides, the magic required to execute one of those curses is _not_ light magic. You would all do much better using curses and tactics you already know if this goes through."

James frowned at that admission. He had noticed Dumbledore's emphasis about Melody Tripnor, who had died over a year ago now. How the Ministry still labeled her as merely missing was ridiculous. He surveyed Dumbledore as he continued telling them all to be careful and mindful of all things around them. Dumbledore seemed to be looking directly at him when he was saying all of that. James instantly became a bit moody as a result, considering Dumbledore had finally told him why Voldemort was so interested in the line of Peverell last week. Apparently, Voldemort was the remaining descendent of Slytherin. It sure explained a lot. It was a good thing Dumbledore was merely aware of the Potter connection to Peverell and nothing more. Dumbledore, of course, was not a Potter and so was unaware of the whole story. If Dumbledore, let alone Voldemort, knew that the Potters were also descendents of Gryffindor, suddenly things would be a lot worse for him and Lily. Dumbledore would probably send them into hiding right away regardless, and Voldemort would be after their heads.

He felt Lily squeeze his hand gently, likely because she had noticed his brooding. He turned his attention to her instead, smiling slightly at her in return. Her pretty green eyes seemed to already know what was on his mind, but she just patted the back of the hand holding hers in an effort to get him to relax. Dumbledore soon appeared to have finished up, but Dorcas and Marlene urged everyone to stay for a photo. Everyone seemed to chuckle over the idea, but James and Lily soon made their way over, with James grabbing Peter on the way. "Pete, come on. It's just a photo. We haven't seen you much lately."

Peter responded somewhat bitterly, although no one seemed the wiser as to his tone, "Oh, you remember me now?"

Sirius, who was holding Christina's hand as he walked over to them, laughed at Peter's supposed joke, "Wormy, we wouldn't be able to forget you." He lowered his voice so he was just talking to their group, "You guys ready for a reunion in two days?"

Peter shrugged a bit indifferently, but James and Sirius didn't notice because they were looking at Remus. Remus smiled at them all weakly. He obviously was still feeling listless, but at least according to Lily, it was merely how he would normally feel in anticipation of the upcoming transformation. "Thanks in advance for that guys. I don't want to wake up and have chewed my leg off."

James punched him in his arm lightly before smirking at his friend. "Nah, we'll make sure it's your arm."

Their group started to snicker over that, although Peter didn't seem to have his heart completely in it. Marlene interrupted them all, her brown curls bouncing around her as she looked them all over in playful reprimand, "Will you all come and sit? The camera has already been charmed."

They all immediately started sitting down in response to Marlene's gesturing, and Lily pulled Peter to sit in between her and James. They all smiled up at the camera before it flashed, but no one expected that that would be the last time they all would be together in such a light-hearted manner.

Marlene McKinnon and her family were all dead. It had only taken two weeks. Her and her family were not the only ones either. Other well-known 'light' pure-blood families along with outspoken muggleborn and half-blood families had also begun to be picked off right within their homes. The idea of being targeted seemed to reverberate throughout the magical community. No one wanted to go home if there was a chance the Dark Mark was hanging over their home. If a family wasn't even safe in their own home, where would they be safe?

Dorcas had been devastated by her best mate's demise. Her family had died in the muggleborn attack almost a year before so Marlene had been all that she had left. After a host of tears, she had gone to Dumbledore with a newfound resolve. She had declared that she wanted to do anything and everything, no matter what the danger, to make some progress for the Order. Dumbledore had reluctantly given her a few assignments that clearly hadn't been worked out fully. Dorcas merely took them without even flinching at the possible danger if she was ever discovered. Alastor had also made sure to give her as many pointers as he could before she went off on her own in an effort to keep her as safe as possible.

As much as the Order tried to face the dangers head on, the disasters just kept on coming. Edgar Bones, and his pregnant wife, Janet, had been the next to fall about three weeks after Marlene. Their home had been ransacked sometime in the early morning by a number of Death Eaters. Edgar must've suffered greatly, considering his body had been strung up on the wall facing his wife and future child's mangled bodies. The Death Eaters oftentimes got sick pleasure out of making their victim's watch as they tortured their loved ones.

His sister, Amelia, had been in hysterics when she had found out. She and Edgar had been really close. After his death and her initial shock had worn off, she seemed to become more sullen and threw herself into her work at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. This time though, she was more quiet about her work. She remained fair, but she never spoke loudly or strongly about any issue that came up before the Wizengamot. Their other brother, Robert, had been equally horrified by his brother and sister-in-law's demise. Robert's wife, Maureen, had also discovered she was pregnant just two weeks before, and both she and Janet had been cooing over being pregnant together and having their children be so close in age. Robert and Maureen had tearfully told people at the funeral that because Janet and Edgar had been having a baby girl they were going to name Susan, if Maureen had a baby girl, that was what they intended to name her.

Times had gotten considerably dark. James had found out that someone with the last name of Lametz had been killed violently in the North of France so he had stopped acting as Pierre in Knockturn Alley. Sirius also had stopped going, particularly because the only reason he had ever gone in the first place had been to make sure James hadn't been alone. That left Peter as their only way into Knockturn Alley. He had smirked at his friends, saying that he had it covered. His reports though seemed to not be that great. Peter claimed he couldn't really get close enough to hear their conversations despite being transformed. The other reason it was a good thing that James and Sirius had stopped going was because the werewolves and vampires that had once been scarce within the area had increased tremendously. It wouldn't have been long for either Marauder to be sniffed out as being in disguise, especially if they kept going as often as they had been. Peter was so small and could hide easily from them, but James and Sirius could not.

It was now almost two months since the last time the Order had had a reason to smile. James sighed to himself as he finished tying a package and a letter to Matty for Lauren. Her birthday was the next day so he had tried to come up with a few different pranks to lighten the day for her. That, and both he and Lily (well, mostly Lily) had gotten her a new black cloak. James had placed a few different protective spells on it too, but even they weren't impenetrable. He frowned when he thought about the danger surrounding them all. Tomorrow he would be going on an Auror mission to stake out yet another possible Death Eater hide out. All of the half-time Aurors in training did most of the stake-out operations while the full-time Aurors were the ones to go inside. He didn't really mind because he had learned a lot about Death Eater habits and could now tell by voice particular Death Eaters, although he never spoke about why he had such great hearing. He watched Matty fly away for a moment until he heard, "There you are! I was looking for you."

He turned around with a smile at his wife. She must've just gotten back from work because she was still in her robes. She was holding Misty in her arms as she came inside the room in the East Wing. That cat followed her everywhere. He came up and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before scratching the cat behind its ears. "I just sent off that package for Lauren. She should get it either tonight or in the morning."

Lily's eyes lit up. "Good. Maybe she will actually have a good birthday instead of one where you and Sirius drive her crazy with a bunch of pranks."

James ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. "Well…"

Lily smacked him in his chest lightly. "I _knew_ you'd prank her if you sent it off. I should've done it myself last night."

James just chuckled briefly before saying, "She'll need to laugh a little tomorrow otherwise she won't all day."

Lily's brow furrowed. "You don't have to say, but…what really happened? It was obviously horrible."

James sighed and led her out of the room so he could drag her into the kitchen. He was hungry. His words were grave as he let the story out, "Well, like I've said before, she had just turned seven when it happened. Her parents had taken her out to some muggle restaurant for kids. Since she had been going to a muggle primary school, she was supposedly meeting up with some of her muggle friends and their families to celebrate. It was a busy day at whatever location the restaurant was at and so they ended up parking way in the back. The memory was extracted from Lauren when she was found the next day hiding in an alleyway a few blocks away. I never watched it, being almost eight at the time, but the gist is that her parents got hit up for money and were shot to death in the back parking lot. She saw it all from underneath their car. Her mother had pushed her there. I'm pretty sure that the muggles who did it had no idea she was even there."

Lily sunk back into the kitchen counter as she watched James start making sandwiches for the two of them. "How horrible. You hear about that sort of thing in the muggle world, but you don't expect it to happen to someone magical."

James nodded. "I know, but if you think about it, my uncle probably denied the muggle guy thinking nothing of it, but then it likely looked dangerous so my aunt probably was too busy trying to push Lauren out of the way to worry about her wand. By the time Lauren was safe, my uncle was probably already shot and my aunt was next because she was a witness. I don't think either of them expected something like that to happen. Maybe just a hassle for money, but not a muggle gun."

Lily nodded. "I guess. It probably took Lauren a long time to get over it."

James shrugged. "Yes and no. I mean, she was so young when it happened. I was a crazy child and didn't understand what had happened so I dragged her out to play all of the time. I mean, don't get me wrong— she had plenty of nightmares, and her birthdays have never been happy for her, always awkward. Sirius found out everything in second year when she was in first. That's when we began pranking her. It made her smile even if she always got upset over it."

Lily smiled at him. "I'm glad you guys were able to do that for her."

He winked at her as he handed her one of the sandwiches he had made. "Why, thank you, love. I never thought you would ever say it was a good thing to prank someone."

She laughed. "Well, I also married you so hell must've frozen over somewhere."

James nodded solemnly. "Or someone made pigs fly."

They continued to laugh quietly with the other as they finished their sandwiches and discussed their days at work. Lily was now resting with her back against James as they sat together on their couch, both of their robes thrown aside. James was toying with her hair as they rested together in relative silence. That all changed when they got a patronus from Alice, "James, and Lily if you're there, Death Eaters came out of Knockturn Alley and are headed for the bank. We need some extra hands."

Both of them flew up off the couch, looking ready to apparate, but James grabbed Lily's arm to stop her. "Wait. Maybe you shouldn't go. Voldemort would love to get his hands on you, Lils. This could just be some ploy of theirs to get the two of us to come out willingly."

Lily rolled her eyes at him and pulled her arm out of his grip. "I'm going, James. Frank and Alice obviously need more people there if they contacted us. Now, quit trying to protect me, and let's go."

James' brow furrowed as he argued with himself. He really didn't want to let her go, but knew she would argue with him until they were both blue in the face. Frank and Alice needed them so they should both go now instead of twenty minutes from now. "Fine, but I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Lily sighed, knowing he had a good point about the whole thing. However, Frank and Alice needed them. Although she knew that she was an excellent witch in her own right, James, Frank, and Alice were the Aurors and had more knowledge about this sort of thing. "Fine."

James nodded at her before grabbing her arm once more and apparating the two of them in the brush near Gringotts. They both spotted spell fire out in front of the bank coming from a number of Death Eaters and Order members. Frank and Alice obviously had notified others as well. "Right, let's go."

Both of them immediately stunned the nearest Death Eaters, drawing enough attention to get drawn into duels of their own. The number of Death Eaters present seemed minimal, only about twenty or so, which made James furrow his brow. If they were heading for the bank, there should be a lot more than just twenty Death Eaters if they thought they were going to have any chance at getting inside. The goblins alone could handle that number by themselves, maybe even more than that. Whichever Death Eater he was dueling with kept all of his spells to James' right, constantly pushing him left when he dodged them. When he heard Lily's voice suddenly say his name questioningly and a bit frightened, he realized why he was being pushed that way. Lily now had two Death Eaters to fight, and there was one she had not seen coming up behind her. James quickly shouted, "Stupefy, stupefy, stupefy!"

His opponent fell to the second stunner after he dodged the first, and James quickly made his way over to Lily, petrifying one of the Death Eaters in front of her. Before he could do anything about the other, he heard her shout out his name. A Death Eater had grabbed her from behind and was dragging her away from all of the fighting. His hazel eyes widened at the prospect of him apparating away with her, and he quickly made his way over to where they were standing casting a shield spell around himself and dodging a few spells as he went. Lily was struggling profusely with the guy as he maintained a strong hold on her despite messing with his robes, trying to uncover his left arm. As soon as he had revealed a dark mark on his forearm and touched it with his wand, James had managed to grab onto his opposite shoulder roughly.

There were cries of triumph by the remaining Death Eaters as both James and Lily disappeared with the Death Eater. The Order members watched in horror as all of the remaining Death Eaters simultaneously disappeared cackling madly over their victory, leaving them all wondering what sort of hell James and Lily had just fallen into.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36 – Caught

As soon as James felt the three of them disappear, he knew that he was only going to have a split second to react to whatever was waiting for them wherever they were going. Since he knew that Voldemort would want information from them first and foremost, his only goal was to make sure Lily was going to be alright through whatever torture they were about to experience. That meant that he had to make sure he fired off at least two spells. When he finally felt them all rematerialize, he ignored the shouts of amazement and joy at the sight of both him and Lily within their clutches. Instead, he immediately shot a pale blue spell at Lily, startling her considerably, before turning his attention to the several Death Eaters surrounding them by casting a large area stunner with as much power as he could muster. He saw about seven Death Eaters fall to it while others threw shields. However, as a result of firing an attack rather than protecting himself, James wasn't all that surprised when he saw his wand fly out of his hand or when he saw two stunners flying straight at his chest.

Lily felt her whole world going in slow motion as she watched James fly across the room and become unconscious. She couldn't help shrieking out his name and struggling more profusely against the Death Eater still holding onto her. She felt so stupid. She should've listened to him. Why would the Death Eaters even care about Gringotts? Getting control of the bank would only do so much, and the effort it would take to overcome the goblins would be enormous. Of course, they had been after her. Now, they not only had her, but they had James as well. She had been the one to put them both in danger, albeit indirectly. Fear and guilt seemed to consume her entire body.

Her attention was diverted by a rather sinisterly slow applause so she reluctantly turned away from her unconscious husband to look into the evil black and red eyes of Voldemort. Once he had her attention, he waved his hand dismissingly at the Death Eater holding her, and she was released. However, it didn't matter much since the Death Eater was still holding onto her wand. Voldemort sneered at her. "Well, well, well… What a bonus, I must say. I thought taking you would draw him to us, but I must admit, I didn't expect it to happen this quickly."

Lily felt her whole body trembling as he confirmed the fact that he had wanted both her and James captured, but she hardened her gaze and made an effort to look as fearless as possible. She struggled to keep the quiver out of her voice as she asked him quietly, "What do you want with us?"

Voldemort shrugged, unconcerned. "You both have valuable information." He turned his attention to her unconscious husband, and his eyes darkened. Lily was sure he was obviously still upset about the last time they all had met when James had made a fool of him in front of Dumbledore. She also supposed it could be because the seven Death Eaters James had just taken out had yet to come to despite the other Death Eaters' efforts to rennervate them. Voldemort continued haughtily, "Now, first, we discover what the ever surprising Potter has done to protect you." At Lily's confused expression, Voldemort shot her an amused glare. "You honestly have no idea what he did either then, hmmm? Interesting, although I'm not too concerned as there are other ways to find out. Accio."

She watched in trepidation as James' wand flew into Voldemort's hand. He pulled out his own wand and touched the tip while saying, "Priori Incantato."

Lily watched as an enormous red spell floated out of James' wand. Voldemort's eyes narrowed at the intensity of the spell. Lily had always known James was powerful, but actually seeing the spell in this reverse fashion and noticing Voldemort's distaste over it made her feel somewhat better, despite everything. She vaguely remembered learning about the reverse spell in Charms class, but even she had never seen a spell that large come out of a wand before.

Voldemort hid his emotions quickly before saying in a bored fashion, "Deletrius." The bright red spell disappeared, and he looked on greedily. "And now, the fun part. Priori Incantato."

However, the pale blue spell didn't come out. In fact, nothing seemed to happen. Voldemort's eyes narrowed in full-out hatred before he repeated again in a commanding manner, "Priori Incantato! Reveal your secrets!" His eyes were completely red when still nothing seemed to happen. The Death Eaters all cowered when a window suddenly exploded from what could only be Voldemort releasing raw magic in his anger. His voice was deadly quiet as he finally uttered, "I, Lord Voldemort, demand you to reveal your secrets."

Lily couldn't help but be reminded of the magic which guarded the Marauder's Map, and she could only now determine that it had been James who had warded that magical creation. Even with this knowledge, she still felt her green eyes widen in shock as James' wand responded to Voldemort's last command by jerking roughly out of Voldemort's hand, surprising the entire room. The wand merely wrote out a phrase in mid-air in nothing but fire: 'You've just been had by a Marauder.'

The wand finished by underlining the sentence, almost mockingly. The several Death Eaters behind Voldemort mumbled incredulously over the situation. Lily could not believe James had done something like this to his wand, but at the same time, she knew there had always been something odd about his wand. Sure, she had always been able to use it, but James always made it create sparks whenever he touched it for the first time after her use. However, she specifically remembered learning that warding a wand took such precise time and care that it was rarely done, if ever. It could potentially backfire if it was done wrong.

Voldemort was enraged as he grabbed the wand roughly from the air. He clearly had not been expecting James to have the magical skill to ward a wand. He pointed at it and mumbled an incantation irritably causing James' entire wand to practically radiate orange, thus confirming the presence of wards. Voldemort's eyes widened in irate astonishment before he levitated the glowing wand in front of him, mumbling something else. Lily watched in awe as she saw the glowing orange parts begin to separate off of James' wand as the wards covering it seemed to enlarge so everyone could see and read them. There were so many Rune symbols and phrases going in all sorts of directions and repeating, Lily had a hard time focusing on them all. Voldemort singled out one Rune phrase and muttered something, most likely to remove it, but that just triggered about a dozen more Rune wards to appear. Voldemort grew even more infuriated when he noticed a black flag shoot out of the end of James' wand, which read out pointedly, 'Nice try.'

As all of the wards suddenly disappeared from view, Lily watched Voldemort furiously grab the wand and attempt to set it on fire, but the wand merely whipped out of his hand, hit him on the head, and then flew like it had been summoned into James' unconscious hand, somehow still generating some tiny scarlet and gold sparks. Voldemort approached her husband menacingly, and Lily could no longer keep quiet, "Leave him alone! Don't touch him!"

He stopped as if suddenly remembering her presence. Voldemort turned back towards her, his black and red eyes meeting her fierce green ones head on. "Such bravery… So silly, and so weak…" He turned his attention toward his crew of Death Eaters, summoning and pocketing James' wand before trying to regain the air of power and superiority he had lost by being bested by James yet again. He spoke gallantly, "Wilkes, Travers, Rodolphus, Rabastan… Give the infamous Mr. Potter here a proper welcome. Stick with my rules, or you will be punished…severely. Be mindful. He can cast wandless magic. Avery, stay near. The rest of you, be gone. You have my appreciation for your delivery, Rosier, and you will be rewarded later." He smiled cruelly back at Lily, as all of the Death Eaters began to depart. He spoke arrogantly to all of the dispersing Death Eaters, "I think I will play with the mudblood first. I may not know what the ridiculous blood traitor has done to protect her, but it does not appear to be much."

Lily could feel her heart pounding in her chest at being left at Voldemort's mercy with no way to defend herself and knowing that her husband was being carted off to be toyed with by four notorious Death Eaters. She also had no idea what James had done to protect her, but she hoped it was helpful and would last, especially when she saw a mad gleam enter into Voldemort's eyes as he started throwing spells at her. Her despair grew exponentially when she realized that she would only be able to dodge his spells for so long.

James finally released the groan of pain he had been suppressing for the last hour just after his torturers left his cell for what seemed like the millionth time. He had no idea how much more of this he could take. On the upside, he hadn't passed out this time. On the downside, he had to try and make sure he wasn't going to die himself. Whenever he passed out from the pain, he always woke up with most of his life-threatening injuries taken care of. At the same time though, the Death Eaters weren't proper Healers— they were just making sure he wouldn't die.

He quickly surveyed his current situation. His nose was broken for probably the fifth time so he instantly muttered the charm to fix his nose yet again; he was covered in bruises probably from his head to his toes, but those were not life-threatening to him so he ignored them; his ribs were likely going to give him trouble for the rest of his life, having been broken, bruised, fixed, and left unfixed over and over, but that took a lot of magical energy from him to fix and he wasn't even sure he was doing it right to begin with; his arms and legs had been sliced up magically, but the Death Eaters had taken care not to cut him too deep, only put him in pain, so they weren't bleeding out too badly; and so his only real concern was the internal bleeding, which was likely worse now after his latest torture session. He had been coughing up blood for the last two days so he knew he was in bad shape. He normally saved as much magical energy as he could for when Voldemort would try and get into his head. He could not let his Occlumency be defeated. He reluctantly concentrated on magically repairing any internal bleeding, not really having a specific spell in his repertoire. He could feel his magic flowing through him, but he really had no idea what was being done. Madam Pomfrey would probably have his head for trying to heal himself so cavalierly, but it was all he could do.

After a few minutes, he finally stopped and leaned back against the far wall so he remained sitting up. His breath came in gasps as he shifted, and he tried to not think about the bitter iron-like taste in his mouth. If he was coughing up blood still, he really didn't want to know about it. He had always known that lying down with broken ribs was a bad idea, considering it would increase the chances of one of his lungs collapsing. He needed to stay as healthy as possible. He had to get out of there somehow. He had to get Lily out of there somehow.

His brow furrowed as he thought about what his wife must be going through at that very moment. He hoped that she was not in the state he was in. His worried gaze ultimately landed on his wrist. One of the first spells he had done when he had awoken for the first time, even though he had been surrounded by four thrilled Death Eaters, was transfigure his watch so it looked like a cheap muggle one which had no apparent magic to it. None of them had noticed because they had been too focused on making him feel like shit at the time. He reluctantly undid the transfiguration and scowled at the date, which was two weeks after Lauren's birthday. He would've loved to just use his portkey function, but he knew that Voldemort would have thought to ward the entire building against such a thing and there was no way he would ever leave his wife here alone, even if the option had been possible. He had also tried activating Lauren's necklace a long time ago, but the signal he had sent off did not seem to be effective. He closed his eyes briefly, trying desperately not to imagine what the Order, Dumbledore, and Lauren must be going through with them having been missing for so long. He merely pushed the 6 button on his watch instead. The Lily hand was still sitting treacherously at the 10 hand, which read 'mortal peril.' It hadn't moved from that spot since the two of them had arrived. Her tiny picture gave him a worried look and a forced smile, but even that magical likeness' gesture didn't ease his worry for her.

He frowned considerably as he adjusted everything back so he was now looking at the muggle watch again. Although his worry for his wife would never diminish, he reluctantly admitted to himself that deep down he knew that Lily was going to be kept fine for the most part. Lily was, to put it simply, Voldemort's trump card when it came to James. Voldemort had already tried pretending she was injured or even dead in an effort to get him to talk. He had even brought him an obviously fake copy of her wedding band and engagement ring as proof. All of these attempts made James a bit happier though because it meant that Lily was still alive and well enough to keep fighting back. The only way Voldemort would have had to bring him poorly made copies of his wife's engagement ring and wedding band was because Lily had not relinquished the real things.

There was only one time that had shocked James. Voldemort had actually brought Lily into his cell, but that hadn't been the shocking part. James had known in the first ten seconds that it hadn't been his wife. Although the Lily Voldemort had brought in had looked and sounded just like her, polyjuice couldn't duplicate the way Lily's eyes looked at him. He had sent a wandless truth spell at the fake Lily, which had made Voldemort furious when the fake Lily had turned back into some other captured wizard. Voldemort had actually randomly shot a Killing Curse at one of his Death Eaters in his anger. This was the moment when James had been shocked. Voldemort had mercilessly killed one of his own followers as if it didn't even matter. Voldemort's immediate attempt at Leglimency directly after that moment hadn't exactly been a picnic in the park either. Strong emotions always increase the intensity of a person's spells. James had had the most horrid headache he had ever had in his entire life when Voldemort finally left in a blind rage at still not being able to penetrate James' defenses.

His eyes were closed as he sighed subconsciously at his dismal thoughts. However, he merely ended up wincing and grabbing his chest in pain over that simple action. He knew the only way to even think about escaping was for him to somehow be removed from his cell. The cell was heavily warded, and without a wand, James could do nothing to try and get around it. There would come a point where that would happen, but James only hoped he would be well enough to take advantage of the opportunity when it arrived.

A tray with food was shoved in through a tiny slot at the bottom of his cell door, breaking his concentration. His eyes narrowed at the sandwich and two goblets of water. For the first few days, he had not eaten anything they had given him. The food had always turned red under his wandless magic, indicating the presence of a serious potion, most likely Veritaserum. After four days, he had finally flipped out enough from being hungry and weak, shouting at Voldemort that he hoped he would die from something as ridiculous as starvation so all of his secrets would die with him. This should have caused Voldemort to lose control, but he had just fumed quietly and left him alone. The next set of food he had received had been clear of any magic.

James was sure Voldemort thought he had won that round by knowing he was keeping James alive so he would one day receive the secrets he so desperately wanted, but James knew better. James had won that round because not only was the food and water keeping him alive and giving him the energy he needed to sustain his magic, it also was clear evidence that whatever information he possessed was something Voldemort would put his entire efforts into getting. This meant that James had all of the power during their encounters, despite not having a wand himself.

James quickly checked the sandwich and water goblets that had arrived for him, and upon finding nothing wrong with them, summoned them to his person. He was in too much pain at the moment to get up and grab them himself. Despite being hungrier than he had ever been in his life, he couldn't help feeling nauseous from his injuries and the blood-like taste in his mouth. He quickly downed the two goblets of water to clear the horrid taste before he forced himself to eat his sandwich slowly anyway. He needed the energy, for himself…and for Lily. He didn't really care what happened to him so long as he got her out of there in the process. He needed to remain strong enough to ensure that that happened.

He was going to get her out of there. That was simply a fact. It was only a matter of when.

Lily felt her body tense up when she heard Voldemort shouting a bunch of obscenities and destroying random items as he made his way back to the large stone room she was currently residing in. The hallway walls may have been thick, but she could hear him as clear as day. She couldn't move anywhere, being surrounded in a corner of the large room by one of his wards. It shocked her if she got too close. She couldn't stop trembling as his profanities grew louder as he grew closer. She knew firsthand why he was so upset. James was stubborn as a mule and could be the most annoying person on the planet, if he wanted to be. Voldemort definitely did not appreciate that side of James any more than she had throughout her Hogwarts career. However, the reason for her tension and fear, although she would never blame James for it in the least, was because Voldemort liked to take his anger out on her. He was prone to throw one or two Cruciatus Curses her way for a few seconds just to make himself feel better. That was always it though— he would not dare hurt her more than that. If anything happened to her, James would never speak another word, and Voldemort knew that clearly now from dealing with James for however long they had been stuck there.

The only other injuries she had sustained had been from two different occasions. The first occasion had been during his initial fun after their arrival. He had ended up breaking her right calf because she had tripped in an effort to get away from one of his stinging hexes. She still had residual burns all over her body from them, and the pain lingered due to lack of treatment. She had also been thrown around a lot, causing her a few bruised or broken ribs, which were uncomfortable. She also had many lingering bruises from the assault. The second occasion had been when he had demanded that she relinquish all of her jewelry, especially her engagement ring and wedding band. She had adamantly refused. Needless to say, she had been forced into submission by a number of Cruciatus Curses and had passed out from the pain. When she had awoken, she had been astonished and quite happy to find that while her grandmother's ring was gone, her wedding band and engagement ring were still on her finger. There may have been pain throbbing from her ring finger and part of her left hand, which were now broken, but the goblin-made rings must have had some magical power to them where they could not be removed without her permission. That had made her smile her first actual smile since before they had been captured.

Her final surprise that same day had been feeling her lily pendant still resting gently around her neck. She had been shocked. Surely, Voldemort would have removed her necklace, but then, it finally had hit her. James had used a clever and manipulated eye aversion spell to render her necklace invisible to protect her directly after they had arrived. That had been why she didn't have any trouble blocking out Voldemort, despite his attempts to penetrate her mind when he thought she wasn't paying attention. He had claimed, and still continued to claim in disgust and anger, that there should be no reason for a mudblood to be able to know Occlumency so well. Other smaller spells, even Voldemort's stinging hexes, probably could've been a lot worse if she hadn't been wearing her necklace.

She was pulled from her thoughts as Voldemort stormed into the large room, wandlessly opening the thick wooden door with a disturbing bang. His eyes were all red as he stopped short in the doorway to glare at her menacingly. It was clear that Voldemort had not broken through James' Occlumency yet again. She felt her heart fill with pride and warmth for her husband, despite knowing Voldemort's anger would likely be sated by harming her. She braced herself for whatever was about to come, but she became rather surprised when he merely turned toward the three Death Eaters in the room with a sinister grin to his features. "You two, you have tasks to complete. Go. Avery, come here."

Lily watched in confusion as the two Death Eaters who had been watching her for the last however many days began to leave. The second one lingered in the doorway, seemingly to look back at her one more time, but then he quickly followed behind the other. Lily's brow furrowed. There was something oddly familiar about whomever that second Death Eater was. The first had always been cruel, oftentimes making her trip and hurt herself for his own amusement. However, the second had actually been quite kind in comparison. He had been in charge of her food. She hadn't eaten any of it initially for fear that the food would be tainted in some way, but after the first few days, he had told her in a soft voice that the food wouldn't contain any magic from then on. She hadn't believed him, of course, but he had merely taken sips from her drinks and bites from her food to prove it to her that day and the days after. Although he hadn't said why the food was suddenly free from magic, she was sure James must've had something to do with it. Voldemort had been more than a little touchy the first day the change had been made.

Her attention drifted toward Avery walking toward Voldemort. She flinched when she noticed that his cruel dark brown eyes were yet again fixed upon her. She immediately backed up against the wall, sitting and hugging herself around the knees to hide herself from view as much as possible. It hurt a lot to sit that way, considering her injuries, but she had her reasons. Avery was the one who walked her back and forth from this large room to a holding cell of some kind each night. Even she could see that there was really only one thing on his mind when he looked at her. Lust. She shivered when she remembered some of the looks she had been getting from behind that mask of his. He also was not exactly keeping his hands to himself during those walks. He had never done anything outright because Voldemort had stopped his advances. She never thought in a million years that she would be in Voldemort's debt, but there was a part of her that was very thankful he had not allowed Avery to have his way with her. She tried not to think of the word 'yet' in her head, but she was trying to be positive. She would be powerless to stop it really. Just the possibility of something like that occurring caused her to tremble fiercely. She closed her eyes, briefly allowing herself to wallow in her fear. She wanted her husband. She wanted to know that James was ok. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her and tell her it was going to be ok.

Voldemort and Avery spoke inaudibly to one another before Avery left rather abruptly. Now, it was just her and Voldemort. She tried not to look at him, but it was hard not to when she could tell he was staring at her coldly. Even though it was clear he had anger burning beneath the surface, he spoke calmly to her, as if trying to gauge her reaction, "Your husband is a fool."

Lily shook her head at his words, reluctantly meeting his dark red eyes. She tried to be as confident as possible. Her words were soft, yet pointed, "You know nothing."

His eyes narrowed. Those words were ironically true enough. James had not conceded any information that Voldemort sought, but she also knew that Voldemort was being silly in underestimating her husband. He just smiled cruelly back at her and spoke flippantly, as if he knew something she did not, "We'll see about that."

Lily hugged herself tighter, wondering desperately what he meant by those words. He was up to something, and she didn't like it one bit. She watched him absently play with their wands, which were sitting next to his throne-like chair where he resided. He liked to tease her with them, having them so near. Her wandless magic was not developed enough to even think about summoning something so far away. She had tried a few times, but the wands had not even twitched. She supposed her lack of skill was also because while she was feeling heightened emotions which should be helpful, she was too scared and too shaky to concentrate effectively. Voldemort acknowledged a Death Eater that arrived with a look. The Death Eater merely nodded at him before walking over to the wall to wait. As soon as the Death Eater turned to look at her, she saw those horrible dark brown eyes boring into her, obviously trying to undress her mentally. She immediately looked away from Avery.

Not ten minutes later, there was a commotion in the hallway, and Lily's head popped up in curiosity. Voldemort had also gotten up, his eyes gleaming at causing some sort of chaos. Lily turned cautiously to see what was going to be so amusing, considering she had already witnessed Voldemort murdering wizards and witches in cold blood directly in front of her. It made her cringe to know that there might come a point where that would actually be her. However, she felt her heart grow still when two Death Eaters dragged someone inside, throwing him roughly onto the ground in front of Voldemort. She was instantly on her feet, her dismay evident as she whispered out horrified, "James…"

He looked horrible, and it made Lily feel sick to her stomach. He had bruises and cuts all over. His clothes, which were torn and dirty, also appeared to be drenched in his own blood. As soon as she had whispered his name softly, he had turned to look at her. His hazel eyes were dull and appeared almost haunted. His attention turned immediately back to Voldemort, but he didn't say anything.

James couldn't believe his good luck. He had finally gotten out of his cell and didn't even have to look for Lily. Now, he just had to get away. It certainly didn't help that he had been tortured and injured profusely in the last four hours with no break, but the opportunity was here and he had to take advantage. Just seeing Lily again made him happier than he had ever been, but he made sure not to linger looking at her too long. He was just happy that she looked reasonably well. Despite having burned, ripped, and dirt-covered clothes, she did not appear to outwardly be in tremendous pain, unlike himself. That mattered more to him than anything.

Voldemort clucked his tongue, observing his two charges with interest. "Well, this ought to be telling."

At a wave of his hand, the two Death Eaters who had brought James in began attacking him again. He felt every last one of their kicks in his ribcage, which was probably destroyed at this point. He groaned pitifully before he coughed up what he knew was going to be more blood. Lily could not bear to watch any of it. She could not even recognize the incredibly tormented voice that came from her as she shouted, "Stop it! Please, stop it! Don't hurt him anymore…"

Voldemort glared at her, but the attacks ceased at her words. He turned to James, looking on in amusement. "Well, Potter, what do you have to say?"

James looked up at him wearily, trying to get his bearings again. When he had finally sat up on his knees awkwardly, he chose to just flip off the bastard. Voldemort didn't like that, and pointed his wand at him menacingly, "Leglimens!"

James' vision swam momentarily, but he flooded his mind with thoughts of Lily as he fought for control again. He had a ton of memories of Lily yelling at him at Hogwarts, and now was as good a time as any to make use of them. He braced himself and released a throw of magic, forcing Voldemort from his mind while sealing his mind closed once more. Voldemort's eyes narrowed as he was pushed back along with the two Death Eaters that had been standing near James. James now was resting calmly in the middle with a ten foot radius between him and each of his attackers. Voldemort's red eyes were furious. "Nothing from you still, hmmm, Potter? How about a little persuasion then?"

James' eyes grew wide as Voldemort turned his wand to Lily. He mentally cringed in pain when he heard Voldemort hiss out, "Crucio!"

Lily fell immediately to the horrible curse and started writhing on the ground. Her screams tore at James worse than any pain he had experienced throughout this whole ordeal. He felt as if his own heart was breaking in two. It took him all of three seconds to start shouting at Voldemort to get him to stop, "Stop it! Leave her alone! Please, leave her alone!"

Voldemort lifted the curse, looking back at James triumphantly. His words were cold, "Love makes you so weak."

James stared back at him undeterred and rather pissed off. "You know nothing of love or its advantages to make such assumptions."

Voldemort eyed him curiously, considering any words James spoke he listened to since James did not say all that much to him. "So you are of Dumbledore's belief that love is one of the strongest types of magic? Interesting. I would have thought you would be more well-versed. Power is what is important. In the end, love takes one's power from them."

James watched Lily out of the corner of his eye as Voldemort spoke, desperately trying to tell if she was ok. He could tell she was shaking from the curse, but she still struggled to get back on her feet regardless. James was not surprised by Voldemort's assessment so he tried to answer him, "You're wrong. Love is the strongest asset one could possibly have. Love is a force that has blinding strength…" He paused briefly before adding softly, "…particularly because of the lengths people will go for it."

James could see Lily watching the two of them closely with an odd expression on her face, but Voldemort just scoffed at his words, "You mean it increases one's stupidity. Like your bravery and nobility, for instance." He paused, his mind trying to put together a way to make James talk. "Tell me about the line of Peverell."

James glared at him and responded just as calmly as ever, "No."

Voldemort hissed at him before he regained control of his temper. "Tell me, and I will grant you any promise you wish."

James rolled his eyes, clearly not falling for any of his ridiculous schemes. "Like any promise I ask will actually be granted."

Voldemort shrugged, giving up on this line of questioning. "No matter. I see you will need additional persuasion." He looked around the room for a moment before suddenly dissolving the ward surrounding Lily. Her surprise was written all over her face. James' brow furrowed at whatever Voldemort was planning. Voldemort ignored the both of them and just grinned wickedly. "Avery, you have…my permission of sorts… Use no magic as I want Mr. Potter here to enjoy the show. Let's see how long it takes before he decides to start talking."

James grew even more confused, but he noticed his wife's face had gone completely white. She was backing up awkwardly because of some trouble with her leg, and she was shaking her head back and forth with a haunted look in her emerald green eyes. "No. No, please… Please…"

James' brow furrowed as he watched his wife's peculiar actions, but then he turned to see the Death Eater who had been standing off to the side start advancing on his wife with a particular look in his eyes. He was after one thing and one thing only. James' face paled considerably as he realized just what sort of permission Voldemort had just granted. Horror for what his wife was about to be subjected to made him turn toward Voldemort fiercely. "Stop this at once! Now!"

Voldemort pretended to not even hear him. Despite his wife's best efforts to get away, her injured leg hindered her, and Avery easily caught up to her, dragging her to him. She continued to fight him every step of the way, pleading louder for everything to stop. The two Death Eaters who were standing close to James seemed to snicker and were clearly enjoying the spectacle. James, on the other hand, felt panic rise throughout his entire body. He couldn't let this happen. Not to Lily. He started shouting out various pleadings to try and mollify Voldemort into stopping such a heinous act, but that all stopped short when Voldemort suddenly silenced him. James' eyes widened in horror when he saw Avery finally get his wife on the ground, struggling to remain on top of her. His wife's whimpers tore at him, causing him to practically hyperventilate. He felt as if his heart were shattering into a million pieces. There was a loud crack from Avery breaking her right wrist, causing Lily to shriek out in pain. She was no longer able to fight him as capably with an injured leg and two injured hands. James' whole body tensed when he heard her whimper almost in defeat as Avery's hands skimmed her body in places she only allowed him to before. At that very sound, James felt something inside of himself snap.

Lily gasped when Avery was suddenly thrown off of her and into the wall forcefully. She heard his head crack as he was knocked completely unconscious. She turned her head toward the sounds of the two screaming Death Eaters, who had been surrounding James, and she was shocked to see that they were covered in flames from head to toe. Voldemort had risen to his feet in clear astonishment, but he too flew back against the wall forcefully. Some of the ceiling even fell on top of him, rendering him out for the count.

Lily scrambled to her feet, making her way quickly toward her husband. His dull hazel eyes looked almost black as he unleashed all of that raw magic. His breathing came out in gasps and his body seemed to deflate some as he finished. He struggled to get to his feet, but as soon as she was standing in front of him, his hands were in her hair and caressing her face as his eyes looked her over in obvious concern. His words were a bit more frantic than she would have liked, "Lily, baby, are you ok? I'm so sorry…"

She nodded her head to reassure him, her hands gently running over his chest. She hated seeing that he was practically black and blue all over. Her words were soft and horrified, "My God, James, just what have they done to you?"

He just shook his head at her question, wiping some tears from her eyes. "Shhh, now… I'm going to get you out of here."

His words were full of conviction, but upon hearing some groans of fury from where Voldemort was lying, Lily wasn't sure she agreed. However, James flew into action with energy she was positive he shouldn't have. He grabbed their wands off of the table before tugging on her right arm to pull her along with him. Lily barely noticed the scarlet and gold sparks flying out of James' wand before he pointed it at the ceiling above Voldemort once more and muttered, "Reducto."

More large stone pieces seemed to fall upon the space where Voldemort still was, hindering him further. As soon as they made it through the door, she heard James mumble, "Colloportus."

Lily had some trouble keeping up, but James wrapped his arm around her to help her walk more quickly. Having him so close to her finally made her feel whole once more, something she wasn't sure she'd ever experience again. She used the working fingers of her left hand to take her wand from his left hand. She was going to have to help somehow, particularly when they heard angry voices coming from behind them. "You just concentrate on where we're going, sweetheart."

She felt him squeeze her side gently in agreement as he pulled her along carefully. She turned slightly to look over her shoulder and gave her attention to those coming up behind them. She left a few choice charms that would trigger when whomever was following them passed through the hallway. She had never thought marrying a Marauder would be so helpful. If the screams of confusion that came a few moments later were anything to go by, she had gotten their followers. They had to hurry or there would probably be more soon. James' voice was slightly amused as he whispered near her ear, "Nice, love…"

They came to a dead end, but Lily had seen a tiny window in the hallway so she stopped the both of them. She quickly turned and pointed her wand at the wall before saying with effort and strength, "Reducto!"

The wall blew apart forcefully, and James pulled Lily into the opposite wall, shielding her from some of the blast despite being obviously more hurt himself. She looked up at him as he winced as something hit his back, but she couldn't help falling for him all over again for his actions, even if he was being ridiculous. She noticed him gazing at her expression curiously, but she merely mumbled under her breath as he started pulling her outside, "Stupid, noble prat…"

As soon as they got through the rubble from the wall, she felt a chill encompass her entire being, causing her to shiver violently. She also suddenly remembered the day she had found out her parents had been killed and how she had felt when she had thought James no longer loved her. Other dismal thoughts continued to creep into her subconscious, causing her brow to furrow. James frowned at the sudden onslaught of his own dark thoughts like that of Lily constantly yelling at him over the years, her possibly wanting to leave him when her parents had been killed, and when his own parents had been killed. However, he saw some dark shapes coming towards them over Lily's shoulder and recognized the problem instantly. He quickly pulled Lily closer to his body, forcing himself to concentrate on enjoying the feeling of having her in his arms once again. With that happy thought, he muttered softly into her neck, "Expecto patronum."

His bright stag leapt out of his wand, surrounding the two of them temporarily. However, he knew it wasn't going to be enough to drive the dementors away far enough for them to continue toward the edge of the property to apparate away. He whispered to his trembling wife, trying to be as reassuring as possible, "Come on, baby… Think of you and me…together…somewhere far, far away from here. I know you can do it. I love you."

Lily couldn't fathom what she would do in this world without the man who had his arms around her just now. She loved him so much sometimes that it was overwhelming. She knew there was no other place in the world that she would ever feel as safe and secure. She closed her eyes briefly at the feel of his lips softly gracing her neck as she mumbled out, "Expecto patronum."

She opened her eyes to watch her tiger leap out of her wand, but that was not what she saw. She felt James' arms stiffen around her as he too noticed her changed patronus. It was a doe. His darkened hazel eyes met her innocent and wide-eyed green ones, and he actually smiled slightly, despite everything going on around them. No words were really necessary as they stared at each other lovingly for a moment.

He eventually shook his head, attempting to regain his focus, and began pulling the two of them toward the edge of the property once more. As soon as they reached it, he heard shouts coming from the large stone castle-like building they had just come from. He hugged his wife to him and urgently apparated the two of them away. Lily blinked carefully as they landed, but instead of St. Mungo's, Hogwarts' gates, or even Potter Manor, they were at the edge of a forest. She was more than a little confused, but her confusion became intense concern when James seemed to sway upon the spot from apparating. Her voice was slightly panicked as she observed her rather dazed husband, "James? James, are you alright?"

He steadied himself, hanging on her more heavily than he had been before. He ignored her question and just began pulling her along into the forest. "Almost there."

Lily instantly began questioning him, ignoring the slight shiver of magic she felt as they walked further into the forest, "What are you talking about? James, you're hurt horribly. You need to go to the hospital. You—"

He ran a hand through her hair and over the back of her head a few times in an effort to placate her. "Shhh, love… They would've followed us to any of the normal places we could've apparated to. We need to go to Hogwarts…ummm, sort of unconventionally…"

Lily's mind was trying to grasp what that meant exactly until she noticed something ahead of them, peeking out from behind the trees. Her face paled. She had never seen one before now. Her voice sounded awed and a bit afraid, "Thestrals…"

He turned to where she was looking and smiled slightly, even though it was a bit pained. He had seen them since he was a first year, considering he had seen his maternal grandfather die at age four. He had made sure to learn everything there was to know about them when he had first seen them— most notably, their impeccable sense of direction. He and Sirius had stumbled upon their habitat in the Forbidden Forest sometime when they had completed their animagus transformations as fifth years. He pulled her carefully over to the large creature, patting his head gently. He helped Lily onto him before climbing on behind her. He spoke quietly to the creature, trying to ignore his waning strength, "Please take us to the Hogwarts entrance. Fly us as low as possible so that we remain out of sight."

The thestral took off carefully, causing Lily to tense up. Instead of hearing James attempt to comfort her for her fear of flying, she felt him merely slump against her wearily. She immediately became incredibly concerned for her husband. He coughed weakly into his hands, and Lily's eyes widened when she noticed a red color on his palm. She resolved to make sure he was taken care of promptly.

James could no longer sense himself at all, and despite having always wanted to fly on a thestral at some point, he could not really remember the ride all that much. He vaguely was aware of how he and Lily hurried awkwardly through the Hogwarts halls at the late hour, ultimately reaching their destination of the Infirmary. They both called out weakly for Madam Pomfrey, who came out of her quarters looking completely appalled at being pulled from her sleep so late. However, that abruptly changed when she saw the two of them in the state they were in. She turned her attention immediately to James, but he merely pushed her away from him, pointing at Lily stubbornly. "Her first."

Lily gazed at him like he was out of his mind. "James, you've got to be kidding… You're in way worse shape than I am! Let her help you—"

His hand covered her mouth, and his dark hazel eyes refused to budge. "You. First."

Lily shot the nurse a pleading look to work fast because James clearly needed to be looked at way sooner than she did. She hurriedly got into a bed with James following more slowly behind her. Madam Pomfrey got the hint and waved her wand around a few times. "Nothing too dangerous…broken bones, bruises…malnutrition…" She trailed off and just quickly handed her two potions. "Drink these, dear. One is for pain, the other for dreamless sleep. You'll be right as rain in a few days."

Lily took the potions quickly, her mind instantly becoming hazy for sleep. She briefly caught a glimpse of her husband smiling slightly and felt his thumb gently stroking the hand he was holding before she drifted off. Madam Pomfrey turned her attention quickly to James, urging him to go to a bed, but it was as if finally knowing Lily was ok was exactly what James had been waiting to hear. He faltered and started to sway again, as he no longer had to keep up pretenses of being strong or in control. All of the injuries that had taken a toll on his body these last two-three weeks finally seemed to catch up to him. Madam Pomfrey caught him with a levitation spell before he hit the ground and placed him in the closest open bed. She frantically began waving her wand over him, but her face grew more and more horrified as time went on. Soon, she just stopped and sent off a patronus to Dumbledore. James was hurt far too badly for her to take care of everything here. She was going to need help…and fast.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37 – Recovery and Retaliation

Lily felt extremely groggy and achy when she opened her eyes into what appeared to be blinding white light. After blinking awkwardly for a moment, she realized that the light was merely reflecting off all of the white bedding and walls in the Hogwarts Infirmary. She briefly wondered why she was even in the school hospital wing to begin with when she should be at home, but then it all came back to her like a ton of bricks. Voldemort. Avery. Torture. Their escape. James. _James_…

She instantly became more alert and tense, sitting up abruptly on the bed. She winced from her quick movement as she realized she was in more pain than she had first thought, but before she could even attempt to comprehend where her husband was, she found herself face-to-face with her very concerned best mate. "Oh, Lily! You're awake. You have no idea how great it is to see you back…and ok… We were so worried about you."

Lily was barely able to focus on Christina before the girl had thrown her arms around her. Lily feebly hugged her back, but she really had only one concern at the moment. Her voice was slightly hoarse when she finally spoke, "James, Chris. Where is James?"

Christina froze around her, and that movement caused Lily to become even more frantic and worried for her husband, particularly when she remembered the exact state he had been in when she had last seen him. She pulled away from Christina and began looking wildly around for him. All of the beds were empty except for one, but that bed contained a young student. Her heart started racing. Where was he? She turned her attention back to the blue eyes of her best mate. The worried and saddened expression on Christina's face did little to alleviate her panic. She could feel tears starting to form because she was so stressed out. She started shaking her head, the panic starting to consume her. James was her everything. She needed him. She wasn't sure she would be able to make it without him. He couldn't possibly be…gone. No way. "Where is he, Chris? Don't tell me…"

Christina immediately shook her head, her blue eyes getting bigger. She quickly tried to shush her by soothingly rubbing her arms to calm her down. "No, no, no… He's not…" She drifted off, not saying it, but rather continued hurriedly to correct the misunderstanding as soothingly as she could, "Sweetie, he was in bad shape when you two arrived. He fell unconscious within minutes, and Madam Pomfrey rushed him to St. Mungo's for treatment she couldn't give him here."

Lily was not relieved in any way with her words. He obviously had been extremely hurt if Madam Pomfrey had needed to send him away. She started talking quickly and panicked, "But is he alright _now_? How long have I been here? How long since we got back? Is he still—"

Christina cut her off as she shot a mildly apprehensive look back toward the nurse's station, "Shhh… I wasn't supposed to get you all hyped up whenever you awoke. You need to rest. You weren't in the best shape either. I need you to calm down or Madam Pomfrey will have my head. I'll tell you everything, but…please relax. For me, ok?"

Lily closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to relax, but her worry didn't go anywhere. Instead of voicing it this time, she merely opened her eyes back up and locked onto Christina's fiercely, silently demanding information. Christina took a deep breath herself, but her face was just as worried as Lily's when she finally spoke quietly, "You both got here four days ago. Madam Pomfrey knew James was in worse condition than you were so she only did a couple things to check you out before just knocking you out so you could rest and she could work on him first. Only you would get married to the most stubborn man I've ever met…" She paused and then looked at her nervously, "Lily…I know I have no idea what you guys went through or if you saw any of it, but James, well, he must've been tortured daily for hours at a time. Healer Hodel, the Head Healer in the spell damage ward where he's at, told us that it was amazing James lasted as long as he did. He hasn't regained consciousness yet, and although they were able to take care of his outward injuries, his internal injuries—including his multiple broken and shattered bones and heavy internal bleeding—are not responding to any magic at the moment. Healer Hodel thinks James' magic is interfering, which seems crazy…I mean…well, no one seems to understand it. Until he regains consciousness or becomes more responsive, they are just keeping him stabilized. No one has left him alone. Sirius has been there daily since your return. He comes by at about 4pm to give Lauren and me updates, although there hasn't been any change so far."

Lily felt herself start shaking as she again thought about the state her husband had been in when she had last seen him and how she could only now really begin to understand the depth of it. Everything Christina had said was ringing inside of her head, but she knew that her best mate was saying things…nicely…rather than telling her every last thing that had been or still was wrong with James because Christina knew that she would probably freak out. Lily supposed that was quite true. She closed her eyes briefly as she fought desperately not to think about everything that had happened to her and James while they had been stuck with Voldemort. She instead focused on her concern and her desire to be near him. That was all she wanted. "When can I go see him?"

Christina's brow furrowed as she looked down into her lap. "Madam Pomfrey told me that once you woke up for real, she would only keep you for one more night, just to be safe. You had a host of problems yourself. She said…"

Lily gazed over at her when she drifted off and noted her hesitant look. She prodded her friend quietly, "What?"

Christina bit her lip as she mulled over whatever she wanted to say. She started hesitantly, "I just don't want to talk about what happened to you unless you want to talk about it. I know Dumbledore will probably ask you some things so they can best try to help James and maybe figure out where you both were, but still…"

Lily's eyes glazed over as she thought about all that. Her voice may have been soft still, but her words now came out rather dryly, "Thanks, Chris, but I'm sure you all have a rough idea from the injuries." She paused as her mind began to litter itself with her horrific memories— images of Avery and his wandering hands during the long walks to her cell along with hearing the taunting words of Voldemort as he tried to pick her brain about James, her job, the Order, or her blood status. After a moment, she added almost inaudibly, "There's more to it than that, but it's all things I'd like to forget. I only want to see James."

Christina nodded slowly back at her friend as she fought hard to hold back all of her own questions, fears, anger, frustration, and despair at what her best mate and her husband must've been subjected to. Seeing Lily in such a desperate state, where she didn't look collected or confident in anyway, made her wince inwardly. She wished desperately that she could help Lily through this, but she knew it would take a lot of time. Not only that, but if anything happened to James, she wasn't sure what would happen to Lily. She did the only thing she could at the moment— she changed the subject. A lot of stuff had been going on over the last three weeks on their end and at least it would be a distraction for the time being.

After a brief check-up from a rather relieved looking Madam Pomfrey, the girls talked all afternoon. Despite most of Lily's thoughts still remaining on her husband, she made a determined effort to listen to Christina talk about everything that had been going on here. With the two of them gone, morale for the Order and the Ministry had been at an all-time low; especially since everyone knew that they both had to have been alive somewhere as Voldemort would have exploited their deaths had that been the case. Lily had merely nodded along to all of this, but she had been surprised by how their lack of presence had affected things so severely. She supposed that it was more about James than her, with them both being the last remaining members of a very old wizarding family and all. When other deaths were mentioned as being tossed into the streets of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade as warnings, she had paled considerably. Most of them she had witnessed personally in Voldemort's chambers. She had visibly winced when she had heard some of the names. That wasn't even that bad when Christina mentioned all of the chaos that had taken place just after they had escaped. Apparently, Voldemort did not take that too well. The wizarding villages and surrounding muggle communities had been viciously vandalized in an obvious need for Voldemort to make a point that he was still a force to be reckoned with.

Lauren had joined them shortly after classes had ended, and Lily was once again thrown into an impossibly tight hug from the petite girl. She had known that Lauren thought of her as her sister now, ever since she had married James, so she was happy to at least remove some of the worry and stress from Lauren's face. The worry didn't go away completely, but considering Lauren was just as concerned for James as she was, Lily hadn't really expected it to. After getting each other up-to-speed once more, they all waited with bated breath for when Sirius would visit them so they could hear if there had been any change to James' status.

However, none of them were prepared for when Sirius finally came through the door. As soon as he had seen Lily sitting up and awake, his face immediately brightened and he quickly transformed into his dog form, ran up to them, pounced on Lily, and covered her in dog kisses. Lily couldn't help but giggle as she tried in vain to shove him away. Sirius had always been one to make stressful situations amusing so tension didn't fester. She supposed it was something she loved about him. "Ewww, Black. Stop it! That is so gross… I don't know how Christina stands it. Besides, your form is supposed to be a secret, remember?"

Sirius took that minute to hop down and transform back, and Lily noticed a mischievous tint to his grey eyes along with what she assumed was supposed to be a glare. "I have a bone to pick with you, Red."

Lily was too curious about whatever he had to say that she pushed back her questions about her husband for the moment. She would allow him his distraction. "And what's that?"

He was completely solemn as he answered her, "I loathe your cat."

Lily was extremely confused as to why this was relevant or even worth saying, but both Christina and Lauren became immersed in giggles at his words. At that sound, Lily's lips twitched uncontrollably into a tiny smile. "Umm, I suppose I should ask why?"

Christina's smile was huge. "You should have seen them both, Lily! He and I have regularly been checking things back at Potter Manor so imagine our surprise when Misty has basically tried to attack Sirius every time they are in the same room together. It happens almost daily actually…"

Lauren smirked and added pointedly, "Apparently, being a dog animagus means you pick up a few of their natural enemies as well."

Sirius just huffed at the two of them as they resumed giggling like mad. Even Lily couldn't help giggling at him a little. "Go ahead and laugh it up, ladies. I suppose turning into a dog and chasing her didn't help all that much, but I couldn't help myself…"

The somberness of the underlying situation seemed to return to them all rather quickly though, but Lily didn't have the heart to question him too in depth at the moment. She was sure he was just as concerned as she was. Even his joking manner couldn't hide the worry behind his grey eyes. If there was another person she knew to be as close to James as she and Lauren were, it was Sirius. She settled for just quietly asking him, "So?"

His grey eyes looked away from her briefly before returning to her hopeful and questioning gaze. He looked slightly disheartened now. "Still no change." He tried to be positive though, giving her his trademark grin and a wink before adding as lightly as possible, "I'm sure he'll perk up now that you will be with him so no worries just yet, Red."

Lily nodded, but couldn't exactly smile in return. She hoped that evening and night would go by quickly. She only wanted to get out of there and be with James.

It was the next morning and Lily was walking with Sirius toward James' room in St. Mungo's. It had been a long evening. Madam Pomfrey had kicked all of her visitors out shortly after Sirius had arrived. She had checked her over more thoroughly before ordering her to rest completely or she wouldn't give her the ok to be released. Lily knew that it was an empty threat though because if Lily didn't still have some residual pain in her ribs and didn't know that she probably needed the rest before she could go and be strong for her husband's sake, she would have been gone already. She supposed she had also known that Dumbledore would be coming to speak with her which had been another reason to remain there. She had dreaded that moment considerably though; she really hadn't wanted to discuss everything just yet.

Sure enough, Dumbledore had come to see her later that night. Unfortunately, she couldn't be all that helpful in regards to what James must've gone through. Dumbledore had only nodded at that. He had also been understanding about her reluctance to talk about anything too specifically about her own experience, but he had urged her to share at least their escape through memory with him because it could be extremely important in helping the Order determine Voldemort's whereabouts. Lily had been more than hesitant about giving him that horrible memory, but only conceded after Dumbledore had promised not to show it to anyone other than himself. He had promised to destroy it after he viewed it. She had closed her eyes and had seen the memory clearly in her head, considering it had been an ever-present nightmare continuously playing there anyway. He had removed it quickly, but even taking the memory out of her head hadn't made the memory disappear. She could still remember every detail, see every little sneer, and hear every little taunt from that night. He had soon left her so she could rest, but she could see that he was beyond relieved that the both of them were both safe and back, even if James was still in bad shape.

She bit her lip and ducked her head as she made her way through the hospital hallways. After freshening up that morning back at the manor, she had made sure to bring her black cloak which had a hood to hide her very red hair so she could keep a low profile. She tried in vain to ignore all of the questioning looks she was getting as she and Sirius headed toward her husband's room. She knew that the Healers and probably the patients on the floor had been told to give her some space, but that didn't stop the uncomfortable stares. He stopped her at the door. "You go on in, Red. I'll be out here if you need anything. Just let me know, ok?"

She nodded and watched him as he went up to an Auror that was keeping watch on the floor. An Auror had been stationed there since James had arrived, considering that he had been in Voldemort's custody and would probably continue to be a target even while he was at the hospital. Lily had heard that Sirius normally held that post during the day and was probably going to relieve the other Auror now that he was here. Lily braced herself and walked through the doors by herself. She stretched her gaze out and felt her heart pound when she finally got a good look at him. It was odd, considering from far away he looked as if he were merely sleeping since all of his outward injuries had been taken care of. As she walked closer, she began to distinguish the differences. He looked a bit stiff in his posture and his face was far from being as relaxed as it normally would be if he had just been sleeping. She supposed there would only be a few people who would be able to notice the difference – probably just her and maybe Sirius or Lauren.

She took the seat next to him and ran a finger over the side of his face softly as she tried to keep her emotions in check. Her voice tremored slightly when she finally managed to speak, "You're a stupid, noble prat, you know."

She couldn't help but feel disappointed when there was no reaction from him at these words when he normally would have given her that devilish grin of his or would have chuckled some. She forced herself to continue, "We're all worried about you. I'm not sure what you are doing to yourself, but you need to stop, sweetheart."

She glanced back at his face as tears stung her eyes. It was heart-wrenching to look at him like this. He was normally so strong that it poured over into her and made her feel that way too. "I need you, you know…more than I had really thought too so you can't just give up. I won't let you."

She finally took his hand into hers and was shocked when she suddenly could feel the utter exhaustion seeping through him at that moment. She was reminded of that time when he had warded her home after they had returned from Miami. That feeling of exhaustion she had felt then was only a sliver of what she could feel now. Her brow furrowed and she felt her heart falter as she fought to grasp just what he must've gone through wherever he had been locked up. She remembered every moment that Voldemort had been upset over not breaching James' Occlumency which was indicative of just how many times Voldemort had tried to hurt him; how many smirks she had seen just behind the masks of some of the Death Eaters, probably after they had tortured her husband profusely when he could do next to nothing in return; and the exact state he had been in the night the two of them had finally escaped that horrible hell. She lifted his hand up to her lips and rested her elbows on his bed as she suddenly grew very tired. She was openly crying now, but she could no longer help any of it. She finally just whispered softly against his skin, silently willing him the energy he needed to overcome whatever he was holding back from, "I love you. I'm going to be right here waiting so don't you make me wait too long, Potter."

She didn't know how long she sat there, but at some point she remembered laying her head down next to him, her fingers playing with his hand as she listened to him breathe uneasily. She smiled softly as she noticed his wedding ring still present on his hand. She closed her eyes and let herself succumb to the exhaustion that was closing in on her. She made sure to murmur one last thing to him before she allowed herself to drift off, "By the way, happy birthday, sweetheart."

Sirius glared at every incredulous patient and Healer that looked over at him or his best mate's door over the last few hours. He had volunteered to stay with James during the day because he wanted to be one of the first people available when he finally woke up.

James was his brother in every sense of the word and had been his only real family for as long as he could remember. He glanced at the door curiously, silently wondering if he should go check on Lily or not. She had been in there since that morning, but it was now almost the end of his shift and she hadn't left once. He made a mental note to force her to eat something if she was going to give up caring for herself as she worried about James. He had already given Christina the duty to ensure that Lauren ate things back at Hogwarts while his girlfriend had been staying with Lily these last few days.

He was relieved of his duty within the hour. It was another one of the trainees in his class, Paul Wokowski. He nodded to him. "Hey, Paul."

Paul gave him a weary smile. "Any change?"

Sirius shook his head, glancing back at the door with a frown. "I don't think so."

Paul gestured to the door. "His wife's there now though, right? She's finally better?"

Sirius nodded, stretching a bit after standing so stiffly for the longest time. "Yeah, she's there. I'm going to go check on her and see if she will come with me to get something to eat. She hasn't left all day. If she won't come, I'll probably be back down here with some food to get her to eat something."

Paul gave him a grim smile. "I can't imagine what my wife would be like if I were in that position right now. If you have somewhere to go and she stays, I'll keep an eye on her for you. Moody has already said you have a couple extra things to be doing."

Sirius chuckled. "Thanks, Paul."

Sirius then made his way over toward James' door and opened it carefully so he wouldn't startle Lily. He looked up toward where the bed was, but stopped short in the doorway. Lily was leaning forward in her chair, having fallen asleep at some point. She was resting near James' stomach on one of her arms while the other was thrown casually across his chest. However, what had shocked him was that James' hand was resting on the back of Lily's head, and it had _moved_ through her hair soothingly. When he glanced up incredulously at James' face, he was disappointed to see that his best mate was still out for the count, but it was different somehow. James finally looked like he did when he was merely sleeping instead of being out cold like he had been previously. Sirius couldn't help but grin widely at knowing that James might just start responding to magic now. He had no idea if Lily had done anything, but he still felt she deserved all of the credit for bringing his best mate back from whatever abyss he must've been hiding in.

He quickly and quietly backed up toward the door again to see if he could find Healer Hodel around here somewhere. However, he couldn't help mumbling out excitedly, mostly to himself, as he left, "You go, girl. I'm so glad he never gave up on her…"

Agony. That five letter word was the only way to describe the feeling when James felt himself start to wake up. He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter and bit back a deep groan of pain, as he had no idea what he was waking up to. His breathing sounded more labored than before as he struggled to wait it out, but he was soon rewarded with nothing more than a constant, dull throbbing throughout his entire body for his patience. This he could handle. He had been able to put up with that for a long time now.

When he finally opened his eyes slowly, he was surprised to find himself in the dark. Not only that, but he was quite sure he was in the Hogwarts hospital wing and not the cell he had been stuck in for so long. His brow furrowed as he struggled through his foggy memories. After a few moments of contemplating the darkened ceiling of the infirmary, he found himself piecing together a whole host of his memories, but especially the last thing he remembered— the night of their escape.

His heart ached for his wife. The more he remembered from that night and the nights prior, he really just wanted to see her. He wanted to see her, hold her, and just make sure she was alright. He immediately began squinting around the room without moving as much as possible. His heart skipped a few beats when he noticed a very familiar shape with red hair cuddled up in a conjured armchair next to his bed. He vaguely remembered seeing Sirius conjure a similarly styled one a few years back in their dorm at some point. He frowned briefly at realizing that if his best mate had conjured his wife that chair, then she had obviously been there for a while. Considering she had had injuries of her own that had needed to be attended to, this worried him. How long had he been out?

He hissed softly as he forced his sore right arm to search for his glasses, since he knew Lily would have kept them near his bedside. He didn't have to search for long because his fingers easily found what they were looking for. As quickly and painlessly as he could manage, he put his glasses on so he could look at his wife more clearly. Merely seeing her again made him feel like he could do anything. She may have had dark circles under her eyes and didn't look nearly as relaxed or as happy as he would have liked, but she was there all the same— whole, healthy, and very much alive. For that, he was more than grateful.

He always enjoyed watching her sleep, the handful of times it had occurred. She was beautiful to him in many ways, but the simplicity of watching her at her most vulnerable was something he found to be breathtaking. He found himself staring at her. Merlin, he had missed her. He watched her sigh in her sleep and shift slightly in discomfort. He frowned a bit at that, knowing that she couldn't possibly be all that comfortable sleeping on that chair. When some of her hair fell over her face as she shifted, obscuring her features from view, he couldn't help reaching out, ignoring any pain the movement would cost him, and moving the strands behind her ear once more. He hadn't looked at her properly in so long, and he was not about to stop now all due to some unruly strands of hair.

His wife stirred again, only this time he caught a glimpse of those beautiful green orbs he had desperately missed. She blinked a few times before she met his gaze head on, and he was concerned when she appeared quite startled at seeing him awake. He again ignored the pain running through his right arm and brushed her cheek gently to soothe her before mumbling out a somewhat croaky, "Hey, you."

He heard her breath intake sharply, and as she let it out, she spoke in amazement, "James…you're finally awake."

He grimaced inwardly as his fear that he had been out for some time was confirmed. He instantly tried lightening the mood by joking, "Is that what this is? And here, I thought I was in heaven…"

His heart leapt when he noticed her smile at his attempt. She even scoffed playfully as her soft fingers ran over his hand and forearm. "I cannot believe that I actually missed your charm."

Her words were light, but he could see the deep concern, fear, and complete relief swimming in her expressive eyes. He ran his hand through her hair and the side of her face as he rememorized everything about her. He was beyond grateful to be out of that hell and to be with her once again. "I missed everything about you, Lils."

That seemed to break her completely. She immediately started blurting out incessant amounts of information in a hurried fashion in such a way that her worry was even more pronounced than it had been already. James was mildly horrified to hear some of the things that had been going on in their absence, or the bits and pieces he was able to collect from Lily's rambling, but when he noticed some tears starting in her eyes as she continued to ramble on, he shushed her quickly. He hated seeing her cry. He gently wiped the tears starting at the corner of her eyes as he interjected, "Shhh… I'll be just fine, you'll see. We can talk about all that in the morning."

She nodded some as she sniffled and took a few deep breaths to calm down. He hated seeing her like this and wished he could just hold her right now. He suddenly didn't care that he was in pain so he shifted over slightly with a grimace and pulled on her arm. "Come here."

She looked at him like he was crazy. "James, you're hurt. I can't lie next to you right now."

He was more stubborn than she was, and his hazel eyes locked onto hers, intent on trying to convey that he was not going to be dissuaded. "I know you're not comfortable in the least in that chair, and I want you to so get your cute self up here this instant, Lily love."

She stared him down for a moment until he could tell she had conceded. She was really careful not to lie on him, instead opting to lie next to him by resting her head near his shoulder. He let her hug his arm to her as she began to get comfortable. He wished he could move more comfortably himself or wrap his arms around her, but that would have to wait a few more days. He was incredibly stiff and sore at the moment. Just feeling her lying next to him was more than enough right now. He instantly felt twenty times lighter than he had before and was finally able to feel as relaxed and at peace as he had before all of this had happened. He turned his head, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair, before kissing the top of her head, the little movement he was able to handle just now. His voice was more emotional than he thought it would be when he spoke into her hair, "I love you."

She tightened her hold on his arm as she answered him in a sort of muffled fashion, "I love you too…so much. I'm so glad you're alright. If…I mean…"

He reached his other arm over to run down her side to calm her some, biting his lip to hide the pain that the action caused. The way she was talking, things must've looked pretty bad for him. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that." He paused some before asking her out of sheer curiosity, "How long have I been out?"

He heard her sigh helplessly, and he was positive she didn't really want to think about him the way he had been. Well, either that, or it was the fact that she knew he should be resting right now. Her voice was soft and a bit pained as she quietly admitted, "Almost two weeks now."

James' brow furrowed. He tried to grasp what the date was in his head then, considering he remembered they had been with Voldemort for at least three weeks before they had arrived here. He was fairly certain as he asked, "So I missed my birthday?"

She nodded against his shoulder, but didn't say anything further so he added somewhat concerned, "Did I miss yours too?"

She shook her head and stated softly, "It's in two days."

He felt his heart beat faster at this, making him feel very much alive again. He had woken up in time for her birthday. He gently picked up her hand that had been resting carefully on his stomach and kissed each of her fingers. He murmured against them contently, "Happy early birthday then, beautiful."

He felt her small smile against his shoulder and that made him feel like the luckiest guy in the world. He no longer cared about any of the pain so long as she was there with him and happy. That was all that mattered to him. She sighed in pretend exasperation and poked him very gently in his side. "Must you always be charming?"

He grinned widely. "Yup."

Lily shifted against him, pulling herself up higher so she could kiss him gently on his lips. When she pulled back to look at him, he noticed a fairly stern expression on her face, even though he could see in her eyes that she was just as happy as he was. "You should get some rest. Madam Pomfrey will hurt me if you aren't fully rested. I promised that I wouldn't distract you."

He chuckled, but grimaced slightly when that hurt him more than he thought it would. "Lily, you being in the room distracts me so it looks like you have been breaking that promise since I woke up."

She gave him a look and was about to retort at his further attempts at being charming, but he just ran his hand down the side of her face as he gazed up at her. He understood her concern so he continued softly, "I'll get some rest. Come on, lie down."

The two of them got as comfortable as the situation would allow them to, but it was hard for them both to fall asleep. Both of them had finally gotten what they had wanted for so long— each other. Sleep was the furthest thing from their thoughts. Instead, they found themselves telling each other anything and everything, from what they had gone through individually over the past month to what had been going on in their absence to what the Order and all of their friends have been doing. Only the other could give them the ear they had both longed for. It was the wee hours of the morning before sleep finally claimed them both, almost forcing them into slumber practically against their will.

"No, Lauren."

"But I—"

"No."

"What about—"

"No."

Lauren pouted at James. She just wanted his support about this, and he was adamantly being stubborn all in the name of her safety. He really needed to realize that she was only a year younger than he was. Her frustration was just fitting to burst so she finally just vented out, "Will you please just hear me out? Merlin, talking to you is like talking to Aunt Judy when she wouldn't tell us our Christmas presents!"

James snorted, but a tiny grin flickered across his features against his will. "I always knew I'd turn out like my Mum."

She threw up her hands and sat in the chair next to his bed in the Hogwarts Infirmary. It had been about a week since he had woken up. He was pretty much at full strength, hence why he was fully dressed and just lying on his hospital bed like it was his dorm bunk up in the tower, but Madam Pomfrey was adamantly keeping him there for one more night because he had winced obviously when he had picked up a few things that had fallen to the floor a few hours ago. As soon as he had awoken, his recovery started moving along infinitely quicker. Lauren attributed this to Lily constantly being around when she wasn't back at work, naturally, but James was also incredibly resilient. She gave him her best big, innocent eyes that had gotten her anything she had ever wanted from her Uncle Drew. "I'll talk to Madam Pomfrey about letting you out of here today if you back down and just agree with me, Jimmy."

James narrowed his eyes warily at his devious little sister. She played hard ball, but he was never going to agree to this. Yes, it was true that he would love nothing more than to leave this stupid hospital wing and be with his wife— alone and away from everyone finally. However, he would never see her get hurt. She was his responsibility now, whether she wanted to be or not. It wasn't an obligation that he was fulfilling in this role; he wanted to be this person for her, especially if she was going to be making such hasty decisions as this. Why she wanted to join the Order was beyond him. Had she not just witnessed what had happened to Lily and himself? And she still wanted to be a part of this? He was also going to be talking to her about wanting to apply for the Auror program. That was not exactly the safest thing she could be doing, particularly when Alastor was pushing trainees through the program at an almost insane pace. "Just because Dumbledore has placed an impossible ward on the hospital wing to keep me here is no reason for me to bargain my wants for your safety. Tomorrow isn't THAT far away."

Lauren humphed at him when the look didn't work like it had for her uncle. He really was more like her Aunt Judy than she had initially thought. The look hadn't worked with her either. He wasn't going to be dissuaded at this so she was going to have to beat him at his own game. She was just as stubborn as he was. She just needed the right ammunition. She let her gaze stray over to his face, studying him intently, but when that little smirk of his started to creep up along his features, evidence of him thinking he had won, inspiration in the shape of a very pretty woman with red hair hit her. She knew exactly what she was going to do to wipe that smirk right off of his face. "Are you saying you _let_ Lily participate in the Order?"

James' face instantly hardened at her insinuations about him being controlling, particularly because they were far from warranted. He snorted, "I don't _let_ Lily do anything. She is her own person. She's also just as stubborn as I am, and that's saying something."

Lauren smiled triumphantly as she listened to him put his foot in his mouth by admitting all of that about Lily, especially when it really ought to apply to her too. She quickly began to make her case before he tried to backtrack, "I am my own person too, Jimmy. Just as she wants to make a difference and push for what is right, I want those same things. I know the danger just as she, and I still want to do this. I'm only telling you because I know you would want to know. You can't make the decision for me."

He pursed his lips and looked utterly pissed off. He knew that his eyes gave away that he now understood where she was going with this, and a part of him knew she was right. However, that didn't stop him from pointing out the truth behind her words, even if she didn't want to admit they were true. "But you still want my approval."

Lauren felt her smile slip away as she realized he was right. She looked away from him with a sigh, hoping she had reached him with her last efforts since she really had nothing more to convince him with. She conceded reluctantly, "It would make me feel better if I had your support, yes. I am eighteen now, but you'll always be my big brother, Jimmy."

He stared her down for a few moments before running his hands through his hair in frustration. He grumbled at her, "Must you always play the big brother card? You know it makes me cave all the time…"

She squealed and threw her arms around him. "Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He hugged her back gently before pushing her away so she was standing in front of him and he could look into her eyes. To him, she still seemed a bit naïve about some of this, but he couldn't begrudge her the chance that he had been given. Hadn't he been somewhat naïve when he first joined the Aurors? Wasn't she as advanced in DADA as he had been in Transfiguration? If he could learn, then so could she, and she was more than capable. She could take care of herself, for the most part. That should count for something. He eyed her pointedly before saying, "I'm not happy about this, but I'm going to trust your decision. It's more dangerous than you might think, but I do know deep down you are more than capable so make sure you never let your guard down. Ever. Understood? I can't be there all the time. And…" He paused before adding resignedly, "I know that Alastor would be a fool not to add someone as talented in DADA as you into the Auror program in a month. Make sure you fill out your application properly."

Lauren smiled widely at him and kissed him quickly on the cheek before jumping and dancing around him. "Thank you, Jimmy."

He rolled his eyes at her antics before lying back moodily on the hospital bed that had been his for the past however many days. He reluctantly grabbed one of the many Auror texts he had been studying since he had 'woken' up. If he couldn't go anywhere or do anything, he figured he might as well catch up on all of the training he had missed while he had been away. Sirius had been more than happy to bring him all of the work he had missed, although James knew that Sirius was actually looking forward to dueling him and winning for a change. James was going to make sure that would never happen. He had a reputation to uphold. "You're welcome. Now go and have fun watching the Gryffindor quidditch final that I'm not allowed to go see because I'm _injured_."

Lauren immediately stopped dancing, holding her hands on her hips in scolding. "You know that's not the reason. It's because Dumbledore knows you'll just leave."

He glared at her. "So what? I'm _fine_."

She snickered at him. "I'll tell you how it goes, but you'll probably be able to hear most of it through the window. It starts in like an hour, right? I should probably go meet Tasha. You should just finish your work anyway. You said you're going back in tomorrow because you need to get caught up. You don't need to watch the match."

He nodded half-heartedly at her, telling her goodbye as he watched her skip her way through the extremely complicated ward Dumbledore had placed on the hospital wing so he wouldn't be able to leave. He narrowed his eyes at the doorway and windows menacingly before turning his attention to the spells he was supposed to learn. If he was stuck here, he was going to be productive, and that was that. He was able to pay attention for a while, but after an hour or two, it became incredibly hard for him to focus. He looked moodily around the room, searching for what was distracting his concentration. There was no noise, other than the cheering from the field, and nothing seemed out of place. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very _wrong_.

It was an odd feeling to have. His thoughts strayed to the only other time he had ever felt this way in the castle. It had happened only once, but that single time was ingrained in his memory. It had occurred in his fifth year, and he had literally dragged the Marauders out for a late night stroll around the castle to burn off the weird energy, but he had ended up finding an unconscious first year Ravenclaw lying on the ground outside of her dormitory. Dumbledore later told him that if they hadn't decided to take that late night walk, the girl probably would've died. She had been a muggleborn diabetic, who had tried to get help for herself the moment she had felt an attack coming on, but she hadn't made it farther than just outside her own dormitory. The girl hadn't made that many friends yet and had told no one about her plans to walk to the hospital wing late at night so no one had known she had been gone. Dumbledore and McGonagall had called it sheer dumb luck, but James had never mentioned to any of them how he had felt that night— how he had strongly felt the random need to walk around the castle because something had felt…off.

He found himself gazing out the window a second time at the quidditch final being played out over the pitch. Nothing _seemed_ amiss, but the feeling to leave the hospital wing and go there instantly was there nonetheless. He shook his head as he realized he had moved without even noticing toward the window to look more closely. Why did he feel this way? Why was this happening to him? He was nobody special, right?

That's when it came to him, something that he should've realized right away, now that he was aware of the connection. He was the heir of Gryffindor. If anyone was going to feel danger at the castle, it was going to be _him_.

He froze suddenly when the cheering from the quidditch match seemed to get exponentially louder, but there was a difference this time. The cheers were no longer happy. In fact, the cheers quickly shifted from being cheers to nothing more than screams of terror. The atmosphere around him became heightened and frenzied, and he knew that the danger was already here. He punched at the invisible barrier on the window and glared at the doorway when he realized he wouldn't be able to leave and help. At least Dumbledore would likely be at the match. He pushed away his worry for Lauren and the other students and shot off a patronus to Alastor and Sirius at the Auror Dept. He then turned his attention to the wards of the castle. If anything else, he could work on them to figure out where the hole was and how danger had made its way through, whatever the danger may be.

He quickly tried to assess some of the wards of the castle, but realized they were definitely out of his league. Among the complicated jumble, he was able to ensure that certain wards of exclusion were still in place, but he was sure they were far from enough. As it stood, a Death Eater not on the 'list' could have made it through, and then used the Dark Mark on his arm, which had a modified Protean Charm attached, to allow for others to come through, even if the others he summoned were on the original 'list' to be excluded. He was going to be talking to Dumbledore about this as soon as this was all over.

He was furious that he was stuck in this room at this moment. All he could do was listen to the torment going on outside and do nothing. He realized quickly that this was exactly how everyone had felt when he, Sirius, Gideon, and Fabian had been locked in Diagon Alley, but he couldn't dwell on that. Lauren was at the match. He only hoped that Dumbledore being on the grounds and his own warning to the Aurors had been enough.

James sat grumpily on his new hospital bed in the far back corner of the Hogwarts hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey had moved him there after bringing in the host of injured students. He was still being held hostage regardless though, which he found to be insulting. So he still had a hard time walking around because of his ribs. Big deal. He would get over it. He could take a few pain potions and be done with it. It would be gone in a few days, and the pain wasn't so bad that he couldn't walk around or do normal things. After being beaten repeatedly in Voldemort's 'care,' he doubted he would ever consider such minor discomfort to be 'pain' again.

He glanced around the room, trying to distract himself from being so moody. He couldn't help feeling saddened by the large number of students that had come through the hospital wing after the attack. Most came by and were treated for their minor injuries before they were sent off, but there were twenty or so students who had had to remain here for the night and a handful of them for even longer. He had helped care for most of the minor injuries alongside Madam Pomfrey, who had been overwhelmed by such a thing occurring at Hogwarts to begin with. He wasn't exactly a Healer or anything, but after being a resident in the hospital wing for most of his Hogwarts career and after some of his Auror and Order training, he knew how to take care of most general injuries. It had freed up her time to tend to the injuries he couldn't tend to, namely the students still residing in the hospital wing. He had just finished up with the last student not an hour ago while Madam Pomfrey continued to work on some of the other students, some of which were not even conscious.

He had been furious and worried about Lauren when he had suddenly felt a calmness rush over him, indicating that Dumbledore had finally managed to repel the danger and adjust the wards to do the same. The castle had been safe, and he had known it somehow. He knew that he wouldn't be able to share such information with anyone but Lily, but it had made him feel better about the situation, particularly when Dumbledore finally reached the hospital wing. He had come in first, with a bunch of the most injured students, but when he had made eye contact with his furious face, he had actually chuckled— _chuckled_! That had about thrown him over the edge, but then Lauren had come through the door looking distinctly rumpled and more than a little jumpy. His anger had turned to concern instantly. It wasn't fair. Dumbledore had known James would be furious with having been stuck in the infirmary so he had made sure to bring Lauren so James' temper would be curved. Smart man.

It had been Death Eaters, just as James had imagined after he had evaluated the poor wards of exclusion, but the most of the problems and terror hadn't come from the few Death Eaters that had shown up. No, the terror had come from the extraordinarily large number of vampires that had somehow made their way onto the Hogwarts grounds. Vampires! The only creatures thought to be completely separate entities from magical folk because they lived on their own and chose to feed solely off of muggles had actually opted to side with Voldemort. It was a huge backlash to the Ministry, who had tried to at least honor their separation from being under magical law. Now, the silent agreement to keep out of their business if they left magical folk alone had been blown up in smoke. Vampires should have been excluded from Hogwarts grounds already, but somehow that ward had been tampered with. Dumbledore had quickly rectified the change once their presence had been discovered, causing the vampires to cover their ears in agony before they had retreated, but not before they had almost killed about seven students. The Death Eaters had made sure to wreak havoc while the vampires attempted to feed, causing most of the explosions and spell fire. This had been what had caused all of the students' injuries, mainly deep burns and cuts. However, after the vampires were forced to retreat, so did they, but not before they had cast a Dark Mark in the sky to make their presence known.

The message had been clear: Voldemort had wanted to make a statement. Voldemort had breached Hogwarts, a place thought to be impenetrable. The magical community was going to be in an uproar, even if no one had been seriously hurt, indicating that Voldemort had succeeded in his endeavor with flying colors. If the community at large was frightened into doing nothing against him, he had all the control. Who would show resistance if they were too afraid of what his retaliation may be? The Ministry was going to tread carefully by not taking action that could appear too forceful, meaning they would likely do nothing to counter Voldemort in the way they should. That left the Order, which was merely a collection of individuals who could only do so much. It was an enormous crux to bear.

He turned his attention out the window again, glaring at the quidditch pitch where Dumbledore and most of the faculty were currently trying to rectify the damage caused by the attack. There had been one other issue that had pissed him off that had stemmed from the attack. It was why Lauren had seemed so jumpy and distracted when she had arrived in the hospital wing. Dumbledore had told him after she had been treated for her minor burns and had been told to go rest in the dormitory that although she had been more than helpful in bringing students out of harm's way, he was deeply concerned about the actions of one of the vampires who had been watching her more than closely. Apparently, Dumbledore had been given the impression that Lauren had been 'targeted.'

That word had made his heart still. It was something that was rarely done, but not altogether impossible. Vampires usually didn't create another vampire unless the circumstances were perfect because it was supposedly a drawn out process for both the victim and the original vampire; it was also frowned upon because vampires were typically solo creatures by nature so the thought of creating an equal of sorts could lead to competition. After paying attention in DADA, he knew that the first trait that they looked for, however, was beauty, and he couldn't deny that Lauren was indeed beautiful. The fact that there was a vampire out there who might be considering her for a 'mate' made his worry for Lauren increase dramatically. It was also a cause for alarm since vampires, thought to never interfere with magical folk, only dealt with muggles. This meant that if they were to create another vampire, the victim or new vampire would likely have started out as a muggle. The thought of a magical vampire was unheard of, unless you think back to the oldest and most powerful vampires living in solitude around the world. These were the only vampires another vampire would ever answer to.

James knew that Lauren would be much more careful and attentive now, since Dumbledore had made sure that she was aware of her admirer. This, at least, was something he was grateful for. Lauren needed a slight wake up call to the danger, but the reason for it was not something James was happy about.

His dismal thoughts were interrupted when he noticed a flash of red out of the corner of his eyes. His attention immediately turned towards the gorgeous redhead he had the luxury of calling his wife. With the attack and all of the commotion in the hospital wing, he hadn't noticed how much time had gone by and that she would be arriving soon. His mood instantly brightened as he watched her walk gracefully down through the throng of hospital beds, her cloak swishing around her as she walked. She still seemed a bit jumpy at the noise of all of the students talking and laughing and anytime someone walked too close to her, but he knew that would only go away with time. He watched her finally glance up and meet his eyes, smiling and blushing slightly at catching him already staring at her. He quickly tried to make her blush even more by asking her when she was finally close enough to hear, "So just how many hearts did you break in the DOM looking like _that_, Lily love?"

He grinned cheekily and thoroughly enjoyed the red stain of her cheeks as she approached him with a mock glare. "Considering most of the men I'm around all day are either married or in their late thirties, I doubt that many."

He chuckled. "They all probably still like to look." He reached out and pulled her into his arms before kissing her gently. He whispered near her ear, "You look beautiful, as always."

Lily smiled at her husband, incredibly relieved at seeing him back to his old self. Her arms rested casually around his neck as she remained standing in front of him while he sat on the hospital bed. "Thank you, James. I can't believe what happened today." He just nodded at her words, frowning, and she knew he was just as concerned over the situation as she was. She had known exactly how to make him feel better though and had already taken care of it— well, more like yelled at Dumbledore about it. "Despite that though, I do have some good news."

He looked up at her intrigued. "Yes?"

Lily's smile turned into a naughty smirk as she said teasingly, "Well, I've gotten you off of hospital arrest. The ward is gone, and _we_ can go home…"

James' eyebrows rose as he easily caught onto what she was really saying. A part of him had thought she would be a bit reserved about the two of them after what had happened, but it had actually been the opposite, even though they hadn't been able to do much about that aspect with him in the hospital. He now knew that it was more of a comfort thing about finally being with the one you love in all possible ways. "Why, Mrs. Potter, are you flirting with me?"

She leaned in closer to him, rolling her eyes playfully. "And here, I thought I was saying it flat out."

He chuckled, pulling her closer to him as he stood up. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Right. Let's go home then."

He let her pull him along carefully, happily noticing that as long as she was with him, nothing else seemed to bother her at all— the noise, the proximity of people, nothing. He smiled, feeling honored that she felt safe with him. He was going to make sure she never felt unsafe again. He would do whatever it took to ease her mind and to see her smile. That was what he was there for.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38 – Lurking in the Shadows

Lily rushed back into the main office room the moment she found that she was alone again. How in the world had she ended up alone in the DOM for the fifth time that day? She always tried to make sure there was at least one person floating around wherever she was at all times. Augustus Rockwood was still watching her like a hawk. She wouldn't be surprised if he had placed little sensors that alerted him to her presence in the main rooms. Every time she turned around, he seemed to be _right there_. In fact, he was following her at that exact moment. She dreaded what might occur if he succeeded in cornering her, even here in the ministry. She quickly made her way back over to her desk, forcing herself to smile slightly at some of the other workers she passed so no one would be able to tell that her heart was racing and her senses were on high alert. How was she expected to research anything when she felt like she was being stalked at every corner in the maze that was the DOM?

She eventually saw her desk over to the right and felt instant relief. Her pace even sped up unconsciously. James had taught her how to ward her desk so there was no way anyone could even come close to her while she was in her space without the proper intentions. She may have had all sorts of charms on all of her paperwork and books, so much so that it looked as if everything on her desk was completely empty and worthless, but that was normal in the DOM. All of the workers in the DOM were equally protective over all of their work so she fit right in. Her use of a very powerful ward, however, _was_ rather unusual. Lily didn't care though. She knew that there was only one person who she didn't want near her desk, and he was the only one who probably even noticed the ward's presence— Augustus Rockwood, the one who was now also sitting back at his desk about two rows over looking back at her with a smug smirk.

She sank into her chair and immediately began looking over her paperwork, trying to remember to breathe easily. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction that he was unnerving her, but at least when she was at her desk, she could feel safe. This torment occurred daily so it wasn't like it was something new. She dropped her new book just to the right of her and immediately propped it open. It was like gold to her research. She was lucky to have gotten a hold of it when she had been surrounded by others. It had given her the time she had needed to charm it quickly and without alerting anyone, namely her stalker, to what she was interested in. She had been continuing her work in the love room and somewhat in experimental charms, but she had finally come to a snag in her research. Trying to utilize the force of love in a tangible form was turning out to be extremely difficult, next to impossible even. It had been bothering her for weeks, but she had finally had the epiphany she had been waiting for the other day which had allowed her to pull everything she had learned so far together. What she had come to realize was that the force of love would never be able to be pushed into a workable power unless one was under a threat; not only that, but the threat would likely not be against one's own person, but rather against that of a third party. Love could only manifest tangibly as a _defense_. At the same time, the defensive action _could _come across as an offense, depending on the extent of the love for the one being defended.

She sank back into her seat, reading her new book furiously. There was really only one relevant chapter, but she was captivated. She read through it quickly, but she soon came to find that she had already taken into account most of the material she was reading about. This disappointed her slightly. The only new piece of information she had gotten from the material was that no person had been able to execute a demonstration of the power of love in a tangible format. The tests attempting to manifest the power of love had been mediocre and had come to no results, ultimately rendering the possibility of using love offensively or defensively practically null and void. Considering the circumstances that would be necessary to create the power could never have been induced in a closed room standardized for testing, this came as no surprise to Lily. Her principle changed all of that. She slowly smiled to herself when she realized that she was likely the only person ever to have witnessed such a display of power and had had the brains to put it together. James Potter, ever her inspiration. If others only knew what she was now aware of…

Her smile fell when she thought back to the night she and James had escaped from Voldemort. That had been just over four months ago now. She would never have put her work together had that night not happened, but it was not something she ever wanted to think about again. James had been able to use magic far surpassing his own energy levels at the time all at her expense. Yes, James has always been a powerful wizard, but after reevaluating that night and everything James had said to Voldemort that evening, she had suddenly had her epiphany. James must have been able to manifest his love in a tangible form so he could defend her. He was in no state to have completed the magic he had completed that night. If the force of love could only work in a life or death situation, it was no wonder why no one had been able to ever witness, document, or experiment with love tangibly. Sure, everyone was aware that the force of love was something to be reckoned with, but most laughed at the possibility of it even coming close to something that could be useful. As much as she wanted to prove everyone wrong, she didn't really want to document her findings just yet, especially not when times were as they were. If Augustus Rockwood were ever to read about what she knew, it would give _way_ too much information to the wrong people. No, this was something she was going to have to keep to herself.

"Hello, Lily."

Lily's head immediately shot up upon hearing the sudden airy, carefree voice so close to her person. The wide and innocent blue eyes she found observing her rather closely caused her to relax instantly. "Hello, Arielle."

Arielle Lovegood, considered beyond strange to most, tended to only come and speak with her. Lily didn't really mind much though because talking to Arielle was always interesting, even if she sometimes had to be polite with the woman's more…unusual beliefs. While she thought the woman with the long, flowing blonde hair was a bit different, she didn't judge. Arielle was the only other woman in the DOM under the age of thirty so she hadn't wanted to alienate the only other woman remotely in her age group. Arielle was also incredibly intelligent, even if the helpful insights you could draw from her way of conversing took a few minutes to ponder before you could understand them. Although the woman liked to skip back to her desk occasionally, hum odd riffs, or randomly shout out a rhyme that would cause people to smile, Lily was happy to have a friendly face to speak with in the office.

Arielle sat down at the empty seat across from her absently, not waiting for an invitation. She sighed loudly while looking away and twirling some of her long hair. "I noticed your smile today, Lily. It tells me the problem you have been working on has been solved in some way. I wanted to tell you my congratulations."

Lily's eyes widened before she recovered from her surprise. She forced a chuckle to cover up any of her shock at the blunt pronouncement. She didn't want _others_ to become aware that she was feeling good about her research so she quickly changed the subject. "Umm, thanks, I guess. Have you had any luck with that spell you were telling me about the other day? The new charm to tame a…nargle, was it?"

Arielle's wide blue eyes noticeably became even wider. "Oh, yes. I believe I _have_ had a breakthrough. Can you believe how much we all shall be spared as a result?"

Lily nodded in pretend solemnity. She couldn't even remember what a nargle was…let alone if it really existed. "I'm sure it may help a number of us out. Have you brought it to Allen yet?"

Arielle nodded but looked a bit disappointed. "He was much more interested in my work from the planets room, but he definitely thought it had promise."

Lily couldn't resist her smile. Arielle was quite the astronomer and enjoyed stargazing more than most, but her passion was still in creating spells, namely charms and transfigurations, for what most would call odd purposes. Her planets room work was what was always fantastic and exemplary. "That's good then."

Arielle held her gaze suddenly. "Why did you stop working with potions?"

Lily blinked at the random question. "Umm, I didn't _stop_ really…I just felt like I wanted to look into some of the other areas that were available. I truly enjoy charms very much. I still am working on one potion that I have yet to perfect. I imagine it will take some time before I will ever have any sufficient results though."

Arielle tilted her head to the side, observing Lily's now frowning face. "And the frown?"

Lily shook her head. She didn't want to think about Remus and his messed up potion right now. The boy was acting completely mysterious, in an extremely aggravating way. He showed up randomly looking distinctly rumpled, refused to talk too much as if he'd give something away, and always managed to look tired. She had a feeling that he hadn't even _used_ her potion for the past three months. If she was going to get anywhere with her potion, she was going to need a cooperative test subject, something Remus was not currently being. Any time she broached him with questions, he seemed to evade her or give her comments that left her with next to nothing to change. She supposed she understood that things had taken a turn for the worse over the last three summer months and that could be the cause of his distress, but that was not something she wanted to think about at the moment. It made her incredibly worried and scared, something she could _not_ be at work. James was the only one she wanted to be around when she let herself worry. He was her rock and never let her get carried away, but he was not here with her while she was in the DOM so she had to keep it together. She quickly responded in order to cover up her dismal thoughts, hoping Arielle wouldn't notice, "Just thinking about my potion. I don't understand what the trouble is quite yet is all."

Arielle just stared back at her in silent understanding before asking something once again out of nowhere, "It's been an eventful summer, has it not?"

Lily could no longer meet her eyes. How did this woman seem to know _everything_? It was as if she said everything at the wrong time…or was it the right time and Lily just didn't know it? When Lily didn't respond, Arielle continued airily, "You've heard the latest, I'm sure?"

Lily's head shot back up, her green eyes now wide and panicky. Something had happened? Was it James? Sirius? Christina? The Order? Her mind quickly began running in circles. What _should_ she have heard? Or better yet, how come she _hadn't_ heard? As if things weren't already rotten. She swallowed quickly, bracing herself for the worst. The summer had been filled with nothing but horror so she was positive that whatever 'the latest' was, it wasn't good. She ignored the flickering images of when she and Christina had found Dorcas' mangled body in the middle of Hogsmeade after she had disappeared while on one of her rogue missions about a month ago. She and Christina had been on their way to meet the Order at Hogwarts, but they hadn't reached further than the trees that stood near the Three Broomsticks. The message had been clear. It had been a direct message from Voldemort that he did not take well to undercover persons trying to obtain information about him. Dorcas was definitely one of the many that had been killed by him personally. The whole presentation also gave off the impression that he knew that there was an independent group of persons who were monitoring him, namely the Order, and he was enjoying the 'game' such a challenge presented. That didn't even come close to all of the other horrific acts that she had witnessed or heard about from Voldemort and his Death Eaters all over the area over the past three months— devastating fires, murdered families, random explosions, muggle raids, muggleborn raids, imperioused persons everywhere, Inferi surprising muggles and magical folk alike… The list continued on and on. Was the horror ever going to end? Hope was at an all-time low, and the ministry was struggling with trying to keep things sane and safe.

Her voice was hesitant as she quietly parroted back, "The latest?"

Arielle shrugged, her blonde hair dancing loosely around her. "Well, it seems that the Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement has lost yet another employee."

Lily gulped. Arielle would _not_ be telling her something about her husband or his best mate so carelessly so this had to be someone else, not that it made hearing the horrible news any better. She spoke resignedly, "Who was found dead this time?"

Arielle shook her head, her eyes wide once more as she leaned in closer to emphasize the startling news. "No, no! That's just the _thing_! He's not _dead_, he's really _lost_! Crazy, isn't it? How could someone as handsome as Caradoc Dearborn just disappear? If I hadn't have met my Xeno first, Caradoc would have been a fine second choice. He may have been a seventh year when I was a first year, but he knew we had a connection. How many 35 year old men do _you_ know that look 22?"

Lily felt herself start to tremble. Another Order member was missing. This was _not_ good. "Umm, I don't understand. What happened?"

Arielle snorted in laughter, which seemed so uncharacteristic as Lily contemplated the danger they were discussing. "Well, I overheard some employees during lunch mention it in passing. Apparently, he left work yesterday and went to Diagon Alley for some reason, but never made it home. Diagon Alley and parts of muggle London were searched extensively, but all that was found was his jacket. I can't imagine him leaving the area so I think he was kidnapped by a rogue mistfly."

Lily pretended to appear disinterested despite being anything but. Augustus was looking her way again. Arielle's laughter was highly distinctive and had garnered his attention. She knew that Caradoc had been scheduled to monitor Diagon Alley for the Order the night before so this was definitely not something random. "Oh, that sure is something. I can't believe they have no leads. It seems discerning; there's usually always a magical signature to go by."

Arielle sighed dreamily. "There was not one magical signature within a three mile radius of his jacket. That's why I _know_ it was a mistfly. My Xeno has told me all about them."

Lily nodded uncomfortably. "And what _is_ a mistfly exactly?"

Arielle looked her over carefully, her bright blue eyes now accusing. "_You_ don't know what a mistfly is? I'm sure you've seen them everywhere."

Lily became immensely confused. She could do nothing but play along with whatever Arielle was going on about. "I have?"

Arielle nodded decisively. "Of course! Remember when you came back to work and then there was that huge attack at Hogwarts?" She continued when Lily nodded, "Well, that was when you saw one! I remember it clearly. Your face paled and everything! You were so lucky not to have been taken by one too. You're very pretty. That's what they look for. I'm sure you've seen them loads of times before that."

Lily had no idea what she was talking about. "Right. I guess you'll have to warn me next time then."

Arielle smiled at a spot on the wall. "That I will. It's been lovely to speak with you, Lily, but I think I must be returning to my work with Venus. It truly is a lovely planet."

Lily said her goodbyes and watched slightly bewildered as Arielle bounced out of her seat rather quickly and continued walking aimlessly back to her own desk, humming softly to herself. She blinked as she mulled over their conversation, not ever really knowing what to take from them whenever they had one. From the corner of her eye, she knew that Augustus was still watching her with an intensity she did not feel comfortable with. She threw herself into her work and tried with fervor to ignore everything around her. She must've succeeded because the next time she looked back up, she found that she was one of three people left in the room. This startled her considerably because one of the two others still left was none other than Augustus Rockwood. She jumped to her feet and instantly began grabbing all of her belongings in a rush. She could not believe she had been so silly as to put herself in such a position. When she noticed Augustus looking amused over her hurry, she knew she had to move.

She was soon lost in the many hallways that encompassed the DOM. The fact that she could hear Augustus behind her caused her breath to catch. They were alone. If he caught her now…

She didn't even want to think about it. She quickly made it to the circular room and begged mentally for the exit to reveal itself. As soon as the door opened, she frantically made her way out into the creepy, blue-flamed hallway. Her body relaxed exponentially when she noticed James leaning against the wall just off to the side waiting for her. She had expected Christina like usual, but seeing the love of her life instead made her feel that her safety was now unquestionable. He looked up immediately when he heard the door, and she could tell from his hesitant smile and sad eyes that he had even more bad news for her, but his look quickly changed to intense concern when he saw how riled she was. "What is it, Lily? What's wrong?"

She didn't answer him and chose to just rush into his arms instead. He didn't question her further and when she heard the clearing of a throat coming from behind her a few moments later, she stepped away from her husband slightly. From the glare on her husband's face as he looked past her, she knew why he hadn't asked her anything more. He had seen Augustus emerge from the DOM and was not happy at seeing him anywhere near her. She had been careful not to tell him too many details about Augustus' antagonizing behavior because of his overprotective tendencies, but she had told him enough that he knew she would not be safe if she were to ever be left alone with the man. She reluctantly turned in James' arms, which he had not removed from around her, to look back at the man who would not leave her alone. Augustus merely smirked at her while twirling a quill between his fingers. "Lily, I was trying to catch you. You dropped this."

He offered her the quill, and when James didn't move or say anything, she knew it would be ok to touch it. If he didn't sense anything dangerous from the object, she could take it for the moment. It was likely just an excuse for following her now that he knew that James was here with her. This wasn't her quill. She took it carefully before responding as calmly as she could muster, "Right. Thanks. I forgot that James was waiting for me so I left in a bit of a hurry."

Augustus just continued to sneer before addressing James amusedly, "Potter."

James' voice had an edge to it as he answered him, "Rockwood."

Neither one of them spoke as they waited in silence for Augustus to get on the lift. As soon as he was gone, Lily relaxed her rigid posture, falling back slightly against her husband. James' arms tightened around her from behind, and his voice at her ear pleaded with her, "_Please_ do not leave that late again. He should _never _have gotten that close to you. Promise me, Lily."

Lily shuddered, thinking about what could have gone wrong just then. However, she had no qualms with making that promise to him. "I promise."

She turned in his arms once more and immediately felt guilty for the now worried look in his hazel eyes. She should've been paying more attention. Next time, she would set a personal alarm charm so that she left with everyone else. She ran a hand over his face to calm him. "I'm sorry. I love you."

He sighed, likely melting at her obvious sincerity, and kissed her lips briefly. "I know. I love you too." He hugged her closer to him as he whispered in her ear, "Let's go. I have lots to discuss with you."

Lily nodded and as they began to move, James silently got rid of the stupid quill Augustus had conjured to make his following her more believable and made sure there was nothing tracking either of them. Once they made it to an apparition zone in the main lobby, he pulled her closer to him and apparated them both away. Instead of arriving in the Potter Manor living room like usual, Lily found herself in Sirius' living room where Sirius and Christina must have been waiting for them. Both of their friends looked incredibly troubled, but Sirius was clearly fuming beneath the surface. The room was filled with apprehension so Lily quickly asked, "What else happened?"

James pulled her onto his lap as he sat down in the remaining armchair in the room. His tone indicated that he was confused by her question, "Wait, what have you heard already?"

Lily watched Sirius and Christina looking her over equally confused so she answered her husband hesitantly, "Arielle mentioned Caradoc's…umm, disappearance?"

Sirius snorted, throwing his hands up in the air. "How did _Lovegood_, of all people, hear about that? That was only discussed in the Auror office! Secrecy is essential, and yet, here's the proof that none exists!"

Lily shrugged, feeling herself relax as James twirled a few strands of her hair absently. She could tell that he had also relaxed some by having her with him once more, even though the tension in the room had yet to dissipate. She rushed to correct Sirius' assumptions, "I'm not sure how she finds out everything… I swear, she can hear a wasp on the other side of our office room so it's no surprise to me. She mentioned overhearing the news during lunch, something about a lack of magical signature found anywhere near his jacket. I had to pretend to not care all that much because I was being watched, but I can't imagine either of you having any other news about him. I just…I can't believe he's gone."

James scowled behind her as she mentioned her stalker, and Christina met her eyes knowingly. Since Christina was the one to meet her after work more often, her best mate was well aware of all of Augustus Rockwood's many ploys to get Lily alone. Her best mate appeared worried by James' reaction. "Was Augustus the reason you were running late today? You and James should have been here already. Sirius and I were ready to go back and find you both if you had been any longer."

Lily nodded her head, feeling guilty. James just remained tense around her so she spoke softly, "I succeeded in blocking him out a little too well and lost track of time. Don't worry— it won't happen again."

Christina shook her head at her, frowning slightly. "Be more careful, Lily. Now is not the time to be so careless. Anyway, that was one of the things we were going to tell you about, but that's not all."

Lily turned back to James, once again scared for other Order members. "Not—"

He shook his head, cutting her off, "No, no one else is missing, not that Caradoc's mysterious disappearance isn't bad enough. We just have some new information from last weekend, and there's been a new…development."

Lily's brow furrowed at James' last word. He sounded immensely pissed about whatever was going on. Sirius jumped in, looking like he would like nothing more than to punch something, "You remember this past weekend, right? When Frank and Alice were on their second Auror raid?"

Lily nodded, shivering as she remembered that unexpected fight. Frank, Alice, Sirius, and James had recently been made full Aurors, although they still had meetings once a week in order to cover any things that may have been glossed over during their rushed training. At least they all had passed every single one of their tests. While Sirius and James had been put on new tasks, Frank and Alice had joined other Aurors on a few of the raids covering known Death Eater meeting places which had already been planned, but the one raid Sirius was referring to was the one where Voldemort happened to be present at the time. He had been none too pleased to find Aurors surrounding him and had fought back with gusto. Both Frank and Alice had been sent to St. Mungo's for care for severe reactions to the Cruciatus curse once Voldemort had finally departed with his Death Eaters. They weren't the only ones to have needed medical attention either. The Aurors had outnumbered the Death Eaters 2:1, but the Death Eaters had all just disappeared after having a little 'fun.' Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan's magical signatures had been found on the sight, not that the Order had needed that information as the Cruciatus curse was a clear favorite of theirs so it had given their presences away already. She knew that there had been a huge uproar within the Ministry over the many Aurors being bested due to the unregulated use of the Unforgivables. Although she was happy that Frank and Alice were to be leaving St. Mungo's the next day, thanks to hearing from Shelley last night, she had no idea what to think they might have found at the crime scene to make Sirius so upset. "What did you find? You were both going back to search for more clues today, right?"

James sighed and pulled something out of his pocket, mulling it around in his fist before placing the tiny item gently in her hand. Sirius practically growled and got up to pace in front of them as she examined the small token. It was a ring which, at first glance, appeared to be incredibly expensive. It was heavy and solid, indicating as such, but it was the elaborate, ornate design over the jet black stone on top that caught her eye. On a closer inspection, she suspected the design to be a large B with some details that she couldn't quite make out. She blinked, looking up at Sirius in shock. This was the Black family crest. She had seen this ring before, or at least, one like it. Sirius had one on a chain around his neck. She spoke hesitantly not wanting to upset Sirius any further, "Is this what I think it is?"

Sirius turned back to face her, his grey eyes still clearly irate, only this time, she could see something more there— almost like disappointment or even…heartbreak. He shoved his own shirt to the side, and she could see his chain with his identical ring still hanging around his neck. "My family has finally done it! Go ahead! Read the inside, Red…just read it."

Lily looked inside the ring and clearly understood why Sirius was so upset. Her heart began to break for him. He had hoped so much that his brother would escape the darkness just as he had, but that was not the case. The ring was evidence as such. She vaguely remembered him watching his brother with his family during Lauren's graduation. Sirius had come for Lauren, seeing as she was his sister in every way just as she was to James. However, his family had been there gloating over Regulus' graduation, seeing as it was a year in advance. They were extremely boastful and had insinuated on and on about how Regulus was going to 'make the family proud.' Because Regulus had not exactly looked enthused at this prospect, Sirius had been so sure that Regulus would escape. Sirius had set the example already; all Regulus would have to do was take some sort of action. If Regulus had been present at a known Death Eater meeting place this past weekend where curses had flown from all of the Death Eaters present, she knew that Sirius had just had all of his hopes dashed. She softly whispered out the engraving as she ran her finger over the words, "Regulus Arcturus Black."

Sirius hit the wall behind him with his fist, his raw magic releasing and shattering the window closest to him. Lily could feel his pain. Her sister hadn't completely turned her back on her like his brother had just done to him, but the situations were still similar in some respects. "I'm so sorry, Black."

Christina stood up and wrapped her arms around Sirius, trying to calm him with words neither Lily nor James could hear. Soon, Sirius just pulled away from her abruptly and left quickly for his bedroom, leaving the three of them out in his living room. The sound of his door slamming caused Lily to jump in James' lap. Christina was looking over the path Sirius had just taken with an intensely worried expression. James spoke quietly, "He'll be ok. You'll just have to be patient with him, Christina. At least we got Travers on that mission. Marlene and her family have gotten some sort of justice, even if the bastard hasn't been able to tell us too much, Veritaserum or not."

She nodded her head, sinking back onto the couch. She turned back towards the both of them with a conflicted expression. Her words were resigned, "Tell her the worst part now, James."

Lily turned immediately back to face her husband. She met his hazel eyes easily, and she could see both fury and intense worry in his eyes now. One of her hands reached up and ran soothingly over the nape of his neck. "What? What else?"

He spoke dryly, "It's been confirmed. Barty Crouch was just voted in as the Head of the Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement. His first official order was put through just hours ago. He has given express and written permission to allow the unregulated use of the Unforgivables by all Aurors. It can even be done as a first response. It's not good. About half of the Dept. can't wait to go out and use them. The other half can't believe the rule was passed at all, let alone with such free reign. It's going to put us at a serious disadvantage, particularly when all of our suspects are dead instead of captured and giving us information or when innocent persons are accidentally killed in a fight by a stray Killing Curse cast by an Auror rather than the murderers we are trying to catch."

Lily's face lost all of its color. "No."

James just nodded, speaking more methodically now, "Yes. Dumbledore is furious. So is Moody, but even his seniority wasn't enough to stop the Head Auror from supporting Crouch's endeavor. It's too late. We all have training over the next week to make sure we can even cast them. It's going to be a disaster."

Lily felt for her husband. She knew he would never want to cast any of them, but he was going to have to do it anyway, in a lecture room of all things. "This is awful."

Christina sighed. "We're going to have an Order meeting tonight about it. We're supposed to meet at our usual place, the warehouse, at 11pm. Sirius and I were supposed to go to Hogsmeade tonight, but…"

As Christina's concerned gaze looked back at Sirius' bedroom door, Lily could practically feel how broken and useless she felt. She couldn't stand watching her best mate look so devastated or troubled so she immediately spoke up, knowing that her husband likely wouldn't mind, "No, Chris. James and I will go tonight instead. You help Sirius here. He needs you and some time to think things over before tonight."

James' arm tightened around her mid-section, and his chin fell to her shoulder. "Yeah, don't worry about it. We'll take care of it. Sirius likes to think things through so don't expect him to say much. However, you are able to put him more at ease by just being near so I wish you luck. He loves you, you know."

Christina nodded, forcing a smile at the two of them. "I know. Thanks, guys. We'll see you tonight then."

Lily felt James lift the both of them to their feet. As Christina walked toward Sirius' bedroom, James apparated the both of them away.

James sat in silence with the love of his life as he gazed down the main street of Hogsmeade. There was no real point in the two of them walking around, seeing as there was no one outside. No one dared walk anywhere in the evening anymore. The sun was just starting to set over the village so he was expecting a quiet night with Lily in his arms. They had found a spot just in front of a tree at the entrance to the only pathway that would lead to Hogwarts. From that point, due to a slight incline in the road, they could see most of Hogsmeade as well as keep watch on anyone approaching Hogwarts without ever moving around. He had placed Lily in between his legs so she was leaning comfortably against him and then had thrown his invisibility cloak over the both of them so it was as if they were not even there.

He seriously could not believe how crazy everything had just gotten in a single day. Caradoc was missing, the ministry had gone from floating to sinking steadily in a matter of minutes, and no matter how much he fought it, he was going to have to learn to cast the Unforgivables and start going on missions for days at a time starting tomorrow. As much as he knew Lily understood that it was all a part of his job, these times were dark and the possibility of ambush or devastation was high. She would be so upset and worried if he had to go to the hospital again, let alone what she would be like if something worse was to happen. Not to mention that she would be all alone in Potter Manor whenever he was away, seeing as Lauren had insisted on getting a flat with Tasha and 'being a grown-up' just after she had graduated and started the Auror training program almost two months ago now. He shook his head and burrowed his face into her neck. He inhaled the sweet scent of her hair, trying to just enjoy being near the woman he loved once more while nothing was trying to take them away from each other. She suddenly reached up and ran her hand through his hair, likely trying to flatten the impossible mess in a loving gesture. "I thought I was the worrywart, James."

He chuckled into her neck, his lips briefly brushing the spot just below her ear. Her words filled the silence, but he had no worries about being overheard by unforeseen persons as Lily could cast silencing charms better than anyone he knew. "True, but there's a lot to be concerned about. I'm just spreading the worry away from you."

Lily laughed softly at him, leaning her head back so he was now looking into her pretty green eyes. "I'm not worried if I'm with you."

He couldn't help but smile at the faith she had in him. It was crazy, but he was sure that there was something more behind it than merely the fact that she was in love with him. There had to be some reason she was so unwavering in her belief that he would keep her safe, not that he was complaining. He would never let anything harm her if he was around to do something about it. It also made him feel amazing…powerful even… Besides, if she had such confidence and trust in his abilities, then shouldn't he? "I love you."

The bright smile he fell in love with crossed her features, making his heart skip. "As I love you."

He twisted her a bit in front of him so he could kiss her properly. She let him continue for a few seconds before she started giggling. She mock scolded him, "_James_, we're supposed to be patrolling Hogsmeade, not snogging."

He tightened his hold on her, sighing into her neck. "I know, but nothing is going to happen tonight— not when so much has already happened today."

Her face fell slightly as she began to embrace the panic that he had already known to be lying dormant inside of her, "I know, but that just leaves the door open for more! Too much _has_ happened, and I really can't get over it. I wonder if Dumbledore has heard anything more about Caradoc. And what about Regulus? I haven't seen Sirius that upset before. I hope Christina is able to reach him. And Frank and Alice? I can't help but remember what that curse was like and for them to have been under the curse for over two minutes apiece… What if—"

James interrupted her rapid flow of concern by placing his hands on the sides of her face and kissing her softly. "Shhh, I didn't mean to make you upset. I know there is a lot to worry about, but I promise Sirius will bounce back and both Frank and Alice are already practically fully recovered. All we can do is do the best that we can, and hopefully, things will—"

He cut off abruptly when he heard something crunching in the forest. It was rather far away, but he had heard it nonetheless. His sensitive hearing did have its advantages. It didn't sound like an animal so someone must be walking into the Forbidden Forest, and therefore, towards the castle off the beaten path. He frowned. Lily pulled out her wand as she gazed over where he had turned his attention. Her voice was now but a whisper, "What? What is it?"

James' eyes hardened as he pulled out his own wand. "Someone's heading toward the castle. I can hear their footsteps." He looked beyond his wife, and upon seeing nothing going on in Hogsmeade, he brought the two of them up to their feet. "Come on, we should check it out. No one's going to be in the village, but someone wandering the Forbidden Forest at night is a bit obscure."

He quickly disillusioned the two of them so they could walk without being hindered by the invisibility cloak while Lily silenced their footsteps. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him as he listened attentively for the footsteps. They were picking up speed and heading out into the deepest parts of the Forest. His brow furrowed. Why would whoever this was be heading that way? Was this another meeting point that they hadn't discovered yet? They soon reached the beginning of the Forbidden Forest and crossed the castle's wards, both of them heading east into the Forest in order to follow the person. He didn't know how far they had walked, a mile or so, but neither of them spoke until James suddenly came to a stop. He listened hard for a moment before speaking softly so he could continue to listen, "Whoever it is just stopped, maybe just under a mile from here. There are only faint sounds now, which are dimmed out by the wildlife in the Forest. I don't want to take us closer in case the person isn't alone. I can't tell."

Lily's expression was troubled. Her voice was equally soft, "What do you think we should do then?"

He listened harder, but then he heard something he had not heard in a long time. It was multiple bones cracking and different whimpers of pain. His head shot up, and his face whitened in horror as he took in the full moon now blazing high in the sky. With everything going wrong today, he hadn't even realized that the full moon was tonight. Whoever was in the Forest had likely led them here purposefully. It wasn't like whoever it was had made an effort to be quiet. There was clearly more than one werewolf, and one of them had led whoever was supposed to be on watch for the Order, namely them, right into their path. "It was a trap. We have to get out of here now."

He quickly pulled out his wand, trying to send a patronus to Sirius to let him know that they were in need of some help and to meet them, but nothing happened. Lily's eyes were now wide in horror as she also tried to do some magic, but it was as if they couldn't cast a thing. James cursed outright, knowing that they must've walked into a ward unintentionally. He immediately shot out his hand and felt some relief when he was able to stun the tree. He quickly turned to face his scared wife. "Lily, you have to run. You have to get to Sirius. The animagus transformation is wandless. I'll be fine. I'll hold off whoever is out here, but _you_ have to get out of here. You can't be human around a werewolf."

Lily shook her head, her eyes full of tears due to the stressful situation. "No, I'm _not_ just _leaving_ you here!"

He shook his head and braced himself when he heard the howls in the distance, indicating they had finished their transformations. She was all that mattered to him, and she had to leave. End of story. "Lily, there's no time. Go…please! _Please_, Lily."

He quickly transformed and nudged her impatiently with his nose so she would start running and get the hell out of there. Her hand gently touched the top of his head, and while her face was full of anguish, she reluctantly turned and began running back the way the two of them had come. As soon as she was out of sight, he quickly transformed back into himself. He was going to need to distract the multiple werewolves with his scent so they avoided hers. It was going to be a task, considering both Sirius and Remus had told him that females smelled way better than males due to pheromones or the like. As long as he was closer to them though, they would probably go for him instead. That would mean he'd have to transform very last minute, which was going to be dangerous. He wandlessly undid his and Lily's silencing charms and started moving noisily toward the sounds in front of him. After a few minutes, he soon heard them howl at his scent. The sounds of the werewolves barreling toward him were familiar, and then not. While Remus had always been playful with him and Sirius while they were in their animagus forms, he was currently acting as bait in his human form. The sound of the werewolves running was similar, but he could instantly discern that he was being herded. They were going to surround him.

When he knew they were too close for comfort, he immediately transformed and prepared himself to attack. He could see them in a matter of seconds, coming at him from different sides. There were only three of them, but that was more than enough. The sudden change in scent had startled them, but all three of them together could do some major damage to him if he let his guard down. One of the werewolves leapt at him, confused, but James caught him with his antlers and threw him to the ground, a move he had used against Remus more than a few times. The werewolf struggled against his tight hold, and he had no choice but to release it as he turned to defend himself from an attack on his other side. He made sure that there was a large tree behind him as he allowed himself to be stalked and toyed with. He didn't want any of them sneaking up from behind him otherwise he would get hurt.

He stomped the ground before charging at the largest of them, knocking it down to the ground, but that was when he noticed one of the other two sniffing wildly in the direction Lily had run off in. He quickly pounced on the werewolf, snorting menacingly in its face. His distraction cost him, however, because he soon found himself thrown aside and pounced on from two sides. He yelped wildly at being clawed and bitten at, but he was able to break away, even if he was now limping awkwardly due to the intense pain in his front limbs. His sides were also bleeding out some. He watched all three of them take off after Lily's scent so he pushed himself to run. He could easily outrun them as a stag, but he was not in the best state to be running at the moment. The pain was practically torture as his front hooves hit the ground as he ran, but he quickly was able to round on the leader, throwing him sideways and successfully distracting the other two. He limped over and stood shakily in their way. He snorted as they began to circle him menacingly. All he could hope was that Lily had made it to the Forest's edge so she could apparate away. He was going to need Sirius in order to get these three under some sort of control.

Lily ran faster than she had in her entire life. She had never been a classic athlete, but she often ran in her free time. It helped clear her head. This time she was running for both her life and her husband's. Her heart panged as she thought of what she had just left James to be subjected to. Werewolves had no control. None. Even as a large stag, he would only be able to do so much by himself with more than one werewolf. They didn't even know how many werewolves were even out there! She had to get to Sirius immediately, even if he would only be able to just pull James to the Forest's edge so they all could apparate away together. She pushed herself to run even faster.

She was completely out of breath as she rounded around a number of trees and finally saw some of the lights of Hogsmeade. She couldn't hear anything going on behind her, but that did nothing to reassure her of her husband's safety. She had to get him out of there as soon as possible. As soon as she felt herself cross the castle's wards, she apparated promptly to Sirius' flat. She stumbled into his living room, due to apparating with little to no control. She had significantly startled the couple who had been resting on the couch together too. As both Sirius and Christina flew to their feet at her sudden appearance, Lily only had eyes for her husband's best mate. "Sirius…"

Sirius took in Lily's tear-stained cheeks, incredibly pale face, and loss of breath and instantly knew something was horrendously wrong. There was also the fact that Lily _never_ called him Sirius to his face. "What? What happened, Lily? Where's James?"

She gulped, struggling to catch her breath, "James…he…needs you…full moon…ambush…werewolves…"

Christina's hands flew to her mouth swallowing her gasp, but Sirius was instantly at Lily's side holding her arm. His eyes were fierce, despite the fear evident on his face. "Take me close. Chrissy, stay here. We'll need to heal him ourselves when we get back so no one knows about our forms at the meeting tonight."

Lily quickly apparated the two of them to the Forest's edge. Not wasting any time, Sirius quickly took off into the Forest, transforming mid-sprint while sniffing wildly. She could hear rustling noises, howling, and snarls louder than she had before, indicating that the werewolves had likely followed her path at some point. James must've held them off, as they still weren't close to Hogsmeade. There might not be people out and about within the village, but that didn't mean werewolves couldn't still wreak havoc on the village throughout the night. That must mean that he was ok, or at least, she hoped that was the case. She kept her wand at the ready as she tried to calm her erratic heart rate.

The wait was unbearable. The howls became even more distant so she hoped that both Sirius and James had led the werewolves deeper within the Forest, considering they knew the place better than even perhaps Hagrid. She must've bit all of her nails twice over by the time she heard anything remotely human in the Forest. As soon as she did, she was up on her feet, waiting impatiently for Sirius and James to emerge. When she saw her husband limping and leaning heavily on Sirius, she immediately rushed forward, horrified. James was once again covered in blood from multiple wounds on his arms and mid-section; his leg looked like it had been ripped open; and there were several large bruises forming everywhere. The fact that he was so white he was almost translucent was what scared her the most. "James, oh my God, what happened! Are you ok?"

James gave her a small smile. "Of course, love. Just another day at the office…"

She gave him a disapproving glare, and he immediately chuckled. However, his chuckle turned into a wheezing cough which caused his face to pain. "Oops. Broken ribs plus coughing equals badness. I forgot."

Sirius rolled his eyes, even though they were filled with humor. "Well, don't forget things that Padfoot tells you anymore, Prongs. Maybe that'll help."

Lily immediately began fretting as she helped Sirius with getting James out of the Forest so they could apparate away. In a matter of minutes, they were back at Sirius' flat. Christina was already up and pacing as she waited for them, and she jumped when they all finally arrived. She had pulled out all sorts of potions and medical necessities so they all could patch James up quickly. Sirius also had a couple of scratches and bites, but she worked on James first. She quickly and carefully righted his ribs; then healed all of his open wounds and his broken leg; and finished with eliminating his many bruises. He was still a horrible mess and since they had to leave for the Order meeting, he quickly cleaned himself up and changed into some of Sirius' clothes. While James was changing, Christina made sure Sirius was alright while they all worked on a story, seeing as the complete truth was not something they could tell everyone, or even Dumbledore.

James was force-fed a blood-replenishing potion and a pain potion by his stubborn wife before they all apparated to the warehouse. They were all late, and questions were a guarantee. As soon as they reached the room, they were under intense wand-point. Once their identities were verified and the room was re-sealed against eavesdroppers, the questions were continuous.

Lauren, in particular, was furious. She had, of course, joined the Order right after graduating and had been doing surveillance work all summer when she wasn't in Auror training. However, in that moment, she was suddenly standing in front of James, tapping her foot rapidly in that annoying way his mother used to whenever he had gotten into trouble. And she had the nerve to say _he_ was the one that was like his mother… She sure was channeling her rather well just then. Her voice immediately blocked everyone else's out as she yelled at him, "Where in the _hell_ were you all? Sirius and Christina were supposed to be in Hogsmeade! Did something _happen_? How _dare_ you all act so irresponsibly _tonight_ of all _nights_! Today has been a mess already! Jimmy, you had me so _worried_! I can't _believe_ you!"

James could feel Dumbledore and Moody watching them all incredibly closely. If Dumbledore asked James or Lily anything outright, they would be forced to tell the truth so he had to make this believable. As he had found over the years, a story embedded in truth was what always worked the best. He carefully recited the rehearsed version of what had happened. His only job was to convince Moody and Dumbledore that he was being truthful to Lauren. If he did that, Dumbledore wouldn't pressure him for more later. "I'm sorry, Lauren. This day has been horrible, but it got even worse tonight. Sirius and Christina stayed in because of the unsettling news we got earlier about…well, you know. Anyway, Lily and I went to Hogsmeade instead, but we were led into a trap. We heard someone venturing into the Forest, but that person ended up leading us into an unnoticeable ward which left us void of casting any magic with a wand. We only discovered it was a trap when we became aware of just what the person was." He grimaced before stating, "He was a werewolf, and we were suddenly near more than one."

Everyone's eyes were wide and more questions started, but James interrupted them all, "No, we're fine, but we had to get out of there quickly. I could use some wandless magic, but that would only go so far. Lily and I were able to make it out and apparate away before we had any problems. We were just going over things back at Sirius' flat, and then we realized the time…"

He drifted off purposefully, but everyone seemed to have believed him. Lily squeezed his hand, indicating she was happy with how he had presented everything. He smiled down at her some. He could tell she was still incredibly distressed about what had really just happened, but she was holding herself together really well. He sat down and pulled her seat closer to his so he could have her within reach so he could keep her calm, considering she couldn't sit on his lap when he was still in pain. They listened as Dumbledore went through all of the horrible facts of the day, but no one had any further insights that James hadn't already thought of. At the end of the meeting, Lauren was by his side in an instant with Peter traveling a bit slower behind her. She looked up at him and over at Lily, Christina, and Sirius intensely concerned. Her voice was worried as she spoke quietly to him, "Ok, what _really_ happened?"

He made sure no one was really paying any of them attention. Dumbledore was busy talking with Hestia, Benjy, and Moody so he was sure it would be ok to give her a few extra facts. "I had to stall the werewolves so Lily could get Sirius. Sirius and I got them under control and away from the village. I'm ok. Sore, but ok."

Lauren's brow furrowed. "You're lucky Remus didn't escape the Shrieking Shack with all of that action going on outside, the howling and stuff."

James blinked in shock as he thought about that comment. It wasn't only that he hadn't thought of that possibility, but that he just now realized that he hadn't heard a distant howling from that direction. He spoke slowly in surprise, "Lauren, I don't think Remus was even _in_ the Shack tonight."

Lily's eyes widened at his words. "You're right. There was no fuss from that direction. He would've been able to hear everything and would likely have gone crazy due to being all locked up."

Sirius looked furious. "If he wasn't in the Shack, then where _is_ he? And why would he not tell us about doing something different?"

Christina tried to soothe him even though she was as surprised as they were, "I'm sure he's fine. Maybe he found another place to go to. We'll just have to wait until we see him tomorrow."

Peter looked uncomfortable as he listened to all of them speak. He then spoke up hesitantly, "So…why weren't Sirius and Christina in Hogsmeade tonight? That _had been_ the plan, I mean…"

Sirius suddenly paled as Peter trailed off so he didn't notice the odd expression that was on Peter's face as he struggled to formulate what he was trying to ask in the first place. "Wait, you're right, Pete. I wouldn't have been able to hold off all three of them by myself. James is bigger than me so he was able to push them around, but I wouldn't have been able to do that. If I hadn't been so upset about Regulus and we would've gone, they would have gotten me…and likely Chrissy."

All of them looked horrified at this revelation. Peter, however, also looked scared. He forced a chuckle, trying hard to lighten the mood. He looked incredibly anxious at Sirius' words. "Pssh, no, uhhh, that's not _true_! You would've been fine. I mean…things worked out tonight anyway, right?"

They all stood in silence for the moment, not knowing what to make of the revelation that Sirius and Christina could've been seriously hurt or worse. What was scarier to ponder was if the werewolves had somehow known Sirius and Christina were supposed to be there that night. Only the Order knew the schedule. The dismal atmosphere was broken when Fabian suddenly threw his arms around Lily's shoulders, winking at her suggestively. "So has Lauren and Peter told you all the _good_ news yet?"

Gideon stepped up to them all with a smirk as he purposefully sided up in between Christina and Sirius, locking an arm around Christina's waist. "Yes, you _must_ have heard by now."

James rolled his eyes as he watched Lauren start to smile over whatever the twins were talking about. He couldn't fathom what in the world those two could possibly be excited about. "No, and what could you both possibly consider 'good news' right now anyway?"

Gideon broke out laughing for a moment before trying to cover it up. Fabian was also chuckling, but he sobered up more quickly than his brother, and he said two words that no one had thought they would hear in such dark times, "Molly's pregnant."

Gideon couldn't help but add unnecessarily with a wide smile, "Yeah…again."


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39 – Baby Making

James was incredibly exhausted as he strolled into the Auror's office around 6am. Had he really not seen his wife for just over thirty hours now? As if that mere fact wasn't bad enough, the time had passed so slowly that the time away from her had and still felt infinitely longer than that. Because of his apparent talent for hearing more than he ought to and being naturally evasive—thanks to being a secret animagus and his ability to apparate silently—he was the prime Auror within Moody's crew to be sent out first on investigative overnights. Mainly, his job was to scout and monitor the likely locations the office had evidence of being possible Death Eater hang-outs and meeting places. If there were any dangers, potential Death Eaters, or other suspicious activity, he was to report it immediately. This was fine and all, but not when it took him away from the rest of his life, namely the gorgeous redhead he had married.

He moodily entered the locker room and quickly cleaned himself up. He hadn't slept since yesterday afternoon when Phil, another Auror, had taken over for a couple hours for him. Even then, he hadn't been allowed to go home to rest—oh no—instead, he had had to camp out at their location. However, this was nothing new to him now. This had been his same schedule for the last two weeks, him going out every few days to various locations for a full night or two at a time. He was to have a full day of work ahead of him today too. He might be able to persuade Moody to let him out early, but since his only real interest to leave was to see his wife, he figured he ought to wait until 5pm anyway so he could just meet her when she left the DOM.

As he made his way over to his desk so he could begin all of his paperwork from his latest assignment, he was surprised to find Sirius working furiously on his own paperwork at his desk at the early hour. Sirius' face was set in deep concentration, an indication his mate was avoiding thinking about something else entirely. "What are you doing here so early, Padfoot?"

Sirius looked up, startled by his best mate's voice. James watched him curiously as his friend ran a hand through his hair a few times distractedly before he finally responded, "Prongs? Back already? We weren't expecting you til 10am or so."

James shrugged and fell back into his desk chair, swiveling it back and forth a bit as he got comfortable. "There was nothing happening. This location was a dud. I saw one Death Eater walking through when I had been there for only a couple of hours early yesterday. He apparated away at about 3am or so, and he never came back last night— at least where I was able to see or hear. I imagine his house is hidden or Unplottable there, but that's it. It was definitely not a meeting place. He never spoke either so I have no idea which Death Eater he might've been. We can just mark it as a possible Death Eater residence."

Sirius sighed and leaned back into his own desk chair, although a smirk flitted across his lips briefly. "Moody is going to be so pissed that location was merely residential. He had high hopes."

James just nodded back at him wearily, rolling his eyes when he thought about Moody's possible temper tantrum in the future. When Sirius wouldn't meet his gaze and began fidgeting in his seat, he allowed himself to study his best mate a bit more closely. Sirius' hair looked like it had been mussed over more than usual and his robes and clothes looked distinctly rumpled and hastily thrown on. While this look was customary for Sirius on most occasions, and was even more usual after he had had a romp with Christina, it was clear that this time it was because he had never even gone home last night. James couldn't help his concern, "You ok, mate?"

Sirius rolled his shoulders, frowning slightly and looking anywhere but at James. "Yeah, fine. Just…a lot on my mind, I guess."

James immediately became alert. "The girls?"

Sirius met his gaze in an instant, shaking his head back at him emphatically. "No, no. They're both fine. Lily misses you, of course. I met her yesterday after work because…well, uh, Chrissy was busy. This is…" He looked away again before finally stating hastily as if to fill the void, "…family stuff."

James felt his heart become heavier at hearing Lily was sad without him. It pained him to be away from her at any given time, and since he knew her feelings typically mirrored his own, he shouldn't have been surprised. He vowed then and there that he would make it up to her. He had already been thinking about potential things to do for their first anniversary in a couple weeks. Perhaps he would steal her away for the weekend. She'd like that. However, right now he knew that Sirius needed to discuss whatever he was thinking about in regards to his crazy family, and he should push his own sadness over being away from his wife aside for the moment. He would see his wife that evening, and he could wait, even if he didn't want to. Plus, he wouldn't have to go out again til late tomorrow night, or at least, he shouldn't have to. That left him all night to be with her. Before he could stray too far with thoughts like that, he focused back on Sirius and asked, "Why? Did something happen?"

Sirius snorted as he cocked his head to the side, his eyebrows rising incredulously. "I take it you haven't seen yesterday's prophet yet?"

James shook his head, feeling confused, but Sirius just dug through his things before holding up a copy of yesterday's Daily Prophet where a large picture of a sultry looking Narcissa and a smug looking Lucius graced the front page with a rather bold heading exclaiming them congratulations. James felt his eyes bugging out of his head as he sputtered out, "But…but she's barely SEVENTEEN!"

Sirius tossed the paper aside, scoffing, "And when has that ever mattered to my family? This is probably why they pushed her and Bella to get married right away, especially since Andie turned out to be such a disappointment to them when she married a muggleborn. You know they are all invested in procreating for the sake of creating tiny little Voldy soldiers all making the Black family proud. While it doesn't exactly surprise me, I do feel bad for Cissa. She seems happy about it though, according to the article quotes, but that could be an act. I can never tell with her anymore. She's changed so much since we were kids…"

James had grabbed the paper to look at the article more closely as Sirius spoke, shocked that little Narcissa Black, now Malfoy, was pregnant. He could remember running around with her, Bella, and Sirius when they were kids. It was so weird to see her as a grown-up, not to mention stuck with an over-bearing family that was pushing her to be a mother so young after taking her out of school before she could even finish. He frowned. Narcissa was quoted stating that she was extremely excited to have gotten the news a couple of weeks ago, and that she was due in early June. That meant that she was almost two months pregnant at the moment, considering it was late October. Her seventeenth birthday had been back in July. It would have been a tragic faux paux in the public for her to have become pregnant when she had been underage so that meant she had likely been forced not to continue with the contraception charm once she _was_ of age. "Unbelievable. But why did _that_ make the front page? These types of announcements are left near the advertisements, right? Aren't there more pressing matters that would be much more worthy as front page news?"

Sirius' grey eyes darkened as he guffawed, "You think Minister Brady cares? No. He just wants to promote the good news. The paper is full of even the most trivial good news to try and lighten up all mention of the latest attacks— those, by the way, are only even alluded to in just the slightest detail and are hidden somewhere in the middle. Ridiculous, huh? I suppose I understand the need for good news, and he's not exactly _ignoring_ the danger, but surely, there are better and more proactive things the Ministry could be doing. You'd think that—"

James gave him a look and interrupted him before he could really go off on a tangent, considering it was becoming more and more obvious that Sirius was trying to hide something from him. Besides, it was always better to catch Sirius off guard if he wanted to get him to talk about something. "Something more happen yesterday, mate? Why haven't you gone home yet?"

Sirius began to mumble a bit to himself, and James could once again tell that Sirius hated the fact that he could never seem to hide anything from him. After a few moments of pretending to read some of the papers on his desk in an attempt to evade James' piercing gaze, Sirius reluctantly admitted, "Chrissy and I fought yesterday…for the…ahhh…fifth time. She thinks it's silly she has her own place, and I suppose I don't like it when she's not with me, and we _are_ always together whether it's her place or mine, but I just don't think that this…_war_ should have an effect on us…upping our relationship from seriously dating to _living together_. _She_, however, thinks the war is beside the point."

James waited until Sirius met his eyes before stating in a no nonsense manner, "You love her."

Sirius abruptly narrowed his eyes back at him before retorting back coldly, "Of course I do."

James just sighed as Sirius began getting defensive. He started getting out his own paperwork in order to try and alleviate some of the tension in the air due to their conversation. "Then, what's the problem?"

Sirius just started mumbling under his breath again, but this time, James ignored him. After a few moments when it was clear that Sirius wasn't going to talk anymore, he eventually just offered his own assessment for Sirius to simmer over until he wanted to discuss it with him again, "Mate, you two have been together for over a year now, you love her, and you don't want anything to happen to her. If that's true, then the best place for her to be is with you because no one is going to protect her more fiercely than you. Besides, I'm sure a part of her wants to know that she's truly important to you. Sure, you both are practically inseparable now, and I know you both regularly stay at each other's places, but sometimes the casual façade you give off as to your relationship status might make her feel unsure as to how she really measures up in your life. The war is irrelevant as to how you both feel so don't use it as an excuse. You told me that last bit a long time ago, remember? Think it over, and make a decision. Don't leave things in the inbetween just because you can."

James went quiet then, thinking over his own words. He knew that Sirius was likely remembering how he himself had told James that if marrying Lily was what he wanted to do, then he should just do it, regardless of any threats to him, his family, or the war. As Sirius remained silent with a fierce look on his face, James turned back to the paperwork now sitting before him. Sirius was not going to be much company today while he worked things out in his head so that meant James was going to have plenty of time to do his reports and go through some of the extra training he had missed yesterday while he had been out on assignment. If he was lucky, he might even get to score a nap at some point too. Merlin knows he planned to be awake when he got home… He quickly shook his head. He _really_ shouldn't let his thoughts stray to his sexy wife when he had so much work to do.

It was going to be a very, _very_ long day.

As soon as James was told he could go home, he immediately started hurrying to leave with Sirius rushing along side him. His day had turned out much, much longer than he had originally anticipated, but he didn't have to come in tomorrow until late in the afternoon so he could get his new assignment details for tomorrow night which was a definite plus in his book.

There had been no getting out early, but he had been lucky enough to score the time to take a two hour nap or so before his afternoon training with Moody and the rest of their crew. They had been practicing more offensive spells in dueling scenarios against more than one attacker. The only downside to this had been being partnered with Sirius and Paul. While this was normally no big deal, today Sirius had taken on the task of trying to attack James in retaliation for his comments earlier that morning, regardless of the fact that said comments were completely true. Needless to say, James had had one hell of a workout. At least his best mate had been practically gleeful as he and Paul took their turn against him. Sirius had decided to release all of his tension over his own situation by being sure to throw all of his spells at James' head on purpose. Bloody git. He would definitely be getting him back for that.

They had also had another lesson using the Unforgivables, much to his displeasure. He had killed way too many spiders that afternoon, and the sick green color was now despised and hated even more than it had been when the color had merely been associated with being a Slytherin. He could cast the Imperious Curse and the Killing Curse with an ease he felt distaste over, but it was still next to impossible for him to cast the Cruciatus Curse properly. He just had no idea on how to _truly want_ to cause something pain, even if it was just a spider. Sirius, on the other hand, had no trouble with that spell at all. James understood why though and didn't hold it against him. He was likely the only one who knew that Sirius' mother had used it on him the summer after he had been sorted into Gryffindor and a few random times thereafter. That curse had also been one of the major reasons Sirius had ended up running away to James' house sometime in the middle of the summer just before their sixth year. His mother was unduly cruel, and Sirius held no love for her. He was sure Sirius was picturing his mother's cruel face every time he cast the curse.

As he and Sirius moved to enter the locker room, they noticed Frank waiting nervously outside the women's locker room area. Frank became incredibly flushed at seeing the two of them, and James couldn't stop the smirk from spreading across his face. Sirius was also grinning roguishly back at Frank. Sirius, likely in a better mood due to the afternoon duel, batted his eyes exaggeratedly while asking the poor bloke in a teasingly feminine voice, "Waiting for your better half, _Frankie_?"

James started snickering as Frank's face darkened further to that of an exploding tomato. Frank just shot them both a glare, even though he couldn't keep up his own anger due to the hilarity of the situation. "Oh, just shut it, you two."

Sirius barked out laughing as he pushed his way into the locker room with James still chuckling behind him. He and Sirius had been talking with Frank before their afternoon training session, and they both had been utterly shocked when Alice had come out of nowhere, kissed Frank soundly on the cheek, and smacked his ass as she told him in a seductive, no nonsense manner, "Frankie, don't wear yourself out too much because we are going to be doing some serious baby making when we get home, and I like it when you are full of energy. It makes you an animal in the bedroom."

Sirius and James had been in hysterics over Frank's complete embarrassment over his wife's actions. They both had been thoroughly taken aback over quiet Alice's blunt and flirty comments and how she had tormented Frank with the sway of her hips and a sultry wink when she had walked away to meet up with her own crew. Once Frank had stopped looking wide-eyed and red enough to be considered a muggle fire truck, he finally had admitted—after some _sirius_ prodding, of course—where Alice's newfound sexual confidence had stemmed from. Apparently, Frank's mother had been obsessed with the idea of grandchildren from the moment Frank had announced his elopement to Alice. His mother had told him that if he had wanted to get married so soon to have sex, and since sex meant babies, then she expected them to be on the way. Frank had successfully kept his nosy and persistent mother away from Alice for a while, but Alice had found out everything that summer. Instead of being as scared and hesitant about the idea of making grandchildren for Frank's mother as Frank was, she had thoroughly loved the idea. Now, she and Frank were actively trying to get pregnant, and while he admitted to loving his wife's…enthusiasm…over the act in general, he was still mortified over the whole scenario. Now, Alice had taken it upon herself to help get rid of his awkwardness by being more crass with him in public in an effort to get him all hot and bothered.

Once he and Sirius had got done laughing over their second encounter with Frank, James showered as quickly as humanly possible so he could go home to see his own wife. While they were not actively trying to get pregnant like Alice and Frank, all the day's talk of baby making and spending time with significant others was starting to increase his own desire to be around Lily. Without drying off that much, he threw on some clothes and shouted a goodbye to his best mate before tearing out of the locker room to get to an apparition point so he could finally go home. _Finally_.

He twisted on the spot and landed in the living room, instantly straining to hear where his wife was at that very moment. It was close to 6pm so she had to be around here somewhere. He could hear pots and pans banging around in the kitchen, and was surprised to decipher his wife's voice apparently ranting…at _Reeny_? He frowned, shrugging out of his cloak before walking quickly and quietly toward the kitchen as he tried to understand why Lily would be doing such a thing. She loved the house elves.

Sure enough, as he got closer, he started listening to what his wife was actually saying, "…didn't mean anything by it? She's got to be _kidding me_, Reeny! I mean, _really_! SURE_, she didn't mean anything by it_! First, she insults _me_. That's nothing new, of course, but I thought she would be more civil now that so much time has gone by. I've kept her updated a little bit, but I have _never_ bombarded her with letters because of her weird fear of owls. Then, she insults _James_. Let me tell you I am so sick of that. She knows _nothing_ about him! How _dare_ she be so damn presumptuous! I don't insult Vernon, and _he's a complete idiot_! No, worse—an airheaded _buffoon_! And then she writes, 'Oh, by the way, I'm pregnant.' I mean, WHAT? She writes me two paragraphs of insults and then drops _pregnancy_ on me? And she's _pregnant_ with _Vernon_! UGH! I can't believe…"

James eyes' widened exponentially when he heard some of her rant. She wasn't ranting _at_ Reeny; she was ranting _to_ Reeny. And Petunia was pregnant? He instantly pictured both Petunia and Vernon together for the briefest of moments before shuddering. He had no real words. He quickly blinked away the horrendous images and then proceeded to crack open the kitchen door. His temperamental wife was pulling things out of the cupboards and dropping them slightly harder than necessary on the counter as she spoke with her back to the door while Reeny was walking around trying to help her mistress and nodding at her words…although the poor thing looked rather wary of evoking Lily's wrath onto her. Reeny's big blue eyes turned toward the door when it had opened, but James put his finger to his lips to stop her from saying anything. Reeny began to smile, but she looked back at her mistress in distress, knowing that she shouldn't leave without permission even if Lily was practically ignoring her. When she met his eyes again, he thought to her quickly, knowing she would receive the order, _It's alright, you can go. I promise she won't mind._ Reeny nodded and hid her giggles in her hand before she abruptly disapparated.

Lily jumped at the sound and looked to where Reeny had been standing before she just humphed at Reeny's apparent dismissal. She started mumbling under her breath, something about how even house elves didn't want to hear about her sister before she just went back to what appeared to be preparing to cook something. At that thought, James felt his stomach growl faintly. Lily was an _excellent_ cook. However, he rarely got the chance to surprise her so he didn't want to botch this up by thinking with his stomach.

As Lily turned and began reaching up to grab some of the items from the cupboard with all of the cooling charms to her left, the one she said was like a muggle 'refid-gator' or something like that, he felt his breath catch as he watched her reach up for something near the top. Her elongated body and the fact that her blouse lifted to reveal the skin of her lower back suddenly caused his thoughts to go straight to the gutter. He admired her perfect profile for a moment before quickly and silently stepping up behind her and wrapping his arms tightly around her. Lily gasped in his arms and jumped about a mile, which made him grin wickedly near her ear as he whispered, "Boo."

Lily was shocked. Well, James' presence explained why Reeny had left so abruptly. The poor elf always got embarrassed whenever she caught the both of them together. She brought one of her hands down to cover her husband's arms as she tried desperately to calm her racing heart. She took a deep breath and relaxed considerably when she could smell James' clean scent, something like a woodsy musk. He must've just showered. She had missed him. A lot. "James."

James sighed into his wife's hair as he heard her breathe out his name. He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck. "Hello, Lily love. I missed you."

She set down the item she was still holding as she spoke, "I missed you more, handsome."

He chuckled into her neck, helping her to turn in his arms. When she looked up at him and her bright green eyes met his, he finally felt like he was home. "That's not possible."

Lily rolled her eyes playfully at him. He always claimed that, but she knew it wasn't true. The giant house was so lonely when he wasn't there with her, even with the house elves, Misty, and the owls to keep her company. Christina had been avoiding her the past few days, probably because she didn't want to talk to her about something; Lauren was so busy with Auror training that she didn't get out much; and Shelley was working overtime at St. Mungo's due to all of the attacks over the past few months. She had talked with Alice occasionally over lunches at work, but she was also busy in the Auror office. She sighed and ran her fingers lightly over the side of his face, finishing with resting them on his lips gently. He had closed his eyes at her ministrations, making her smile. She loved that she could affect him as much as he affected her. "Thank you for the flower this morning. It was lovely."

James' eyes immediately reopened, and he couldn't resist smiling down at her. Any day he didn't wake up next to his wife, he made sure there was a conjured flower waiting for her when she woke up alone. Sometimes he sent notes with the placement charm as well, but he didn't always have time when he was out on assignment. He leaned down to finally kiss his wife, saying just as his lips barely brushed hers, "You're most welcome, my love."

He didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss with his tongue, particularly when Lily buried one of her hands in his hair in order to pull him as close as possible to her. He tightened his grip on her hips and lifted her up a bit so she was sitting on the counter. His arms immediately slid around her lower back to bring her closer to his body, his fingers lingering along the exposed skin just above her jeans that he had enjoyed seeing mere moments earlier. The change in her height allowed Lily to kiss him much more thoroughly, and he enjoyed it so much that he couldn't seem to stop the quiet moan from leaving his throat.

Lily practically whimpered in response to his sounds of pleasure and obvious arousal. She pulled herself as close as possible to him as she tried to satiate her own need to have him near. However, as she tightened her thighs around his hips, hoping he would get the message that she wanted this as much as he did, a loud grumble filled the air which broke her concentration. She began to giggle against his lips when she realized the loud grumbling monster was, in fact, James' stomach.

James groaned and buried his face in her neck, leaving a few kisses here and there as he sighed. Lily's fingers toyed with his hair gently, her lips brushing his ear as she whispered to him teasingly, "I think I ought to feed you first so you have enough energy for the activities we both want to partake in."

She could feel her tell-tale blush cross her features after she said that. She had no idea where she found the confidence to say half the things she said to him sometimes. Yet, when James pulled back and looked at her, his hazel eyes all alight with lust and mischief, the fact that he seemed to enjoy hearing the things she said so much made her feel better…_much_ better. He leaned in with that knowing grin of his and left a slow kiss on her jaw as his hands ran softly over her back. His actions caused her to shiver involuntarily. He just chuckled in response, his nose skimming over to her ear and then over her neck. His voice was husky and low as he murmured against her skin, "Right. So what were you planning on making, and how can I help?"

Lily blinked and tried to focus on the fact that they were supposed to be cooking right now. She had tightened her hands in his black t-shirt as she enjoyed feeling his warm breath run over her bare skin, but she managed to stay somewhat alert. She swallowed reflexively, an action that surely did not go unmissed by James, before she answered him uncertainly, "Ummm, fajitas?"

Lily's heart was pounding as James merely mmmmmed appreciatively into her neck. His lips and tongue seemed to be following the bare skin of her neck all the way down the middle of her blouse, but before he could reach around and begin stripping her of her clothes, she groaned and shoved him away from her with a playful glare.

James just laughed before kissing her chastely on the lips one more time. His wide smirk said everything, but he still added gloatingly, "I win."

She rolled her eyes at him, her chin jutting up stubbornly as she slid off the counter and back onto her feet. As she turned away from him and went to pick up the forgotten items she had pulled out, she stated in a pretend bored voice, "For now."

He poked her in her side with a laugh. "Right."

As she went to go pick up the big kitchen knife she had pulled out when Reeny had been there so she could cut up the steak pieces, James stopped her. His eyes were filled with humor as he stated calmly, "Maybe I should do this part, considering you scared poor Reeny half to death as you were ranting about Petunia earlier with this particular knife in hand."

Lily blanched somewhat. "I did not."

James rolled his eyes, kissing her on her forehead with a big smile. "You kind of did. It's ok, Lils. You're just a little frightening with dangerous objects when you're raging. Don't worry, I learned all about it years ago, and it doesn't scare me any longer."

She narrowed her eyes at him for his obvious mockery, and she smacked him gently when he continued to snicker at her. "Oh, shut it, Potter!" She sighed and began getting the other items out while he started with the steak. She shook her head as she remembered that despicable letter she had received from Petunia. "So you heard my ranting earlier? About Petunia?"

James nodded, but gave her a pitiful look. "Yes, but please don't make me picture it again. It was horrifying enough the first time around."

This caused Lily to erupt in giggles. "That's not very nice, James."

He snorted, but smiled at seeing Lily look so adorable as she laughed. "Well, do I get points for being honest?"

Lily groaned, but her green eyes were still filled with laughter as she gazed at his hopeful face. "Will you stop? That's our niece or nephew you're talking about!"

James just chuckled at her before nodding decisively as he turned his attention back to cutting up the steak. "Ok, ok, I'll be the perfect uncle."

Lily sighed and grabbed at the peppers, tortillas, and other fixings before stating to him pointedly, "James, dropping candy infused with charms or transfiguration spells so the baby will eat them or levitating the baby to hide him or her from my sister is not going to help anything."

James looked over at her in complete shock, his hazel eyes all wide-eyed and his face slack-jawed. "How in the world did you know I was planning to do that, Lily?"

Lily just began to laugh harder than she had in a while, so hard in fact, there were tears. James' genuine confusion and astonishment over her random suggestions left her in near hysterics. He had _actually_ been thinking about doing those things. That just made her laugh even harder.

Lily jumped in her chair for the twenty-third time that night. She looked around the room again trying in vain to sort out the various noises that kept distracting her. First had been the floor creeks that just happened naturally in the old place. Next there had been the wind against the windows, the trees scraping the siding, and the pitter patter of drizzle from the light rain beginning outside. Then there had been the fluttering of owl wings from the East Wing. All of those noises and more had led her to abandon the library—which was a large, wide open space with plenty of hiding places for things to jump out at her from—for their master bedroom.

She had taken a hot shower to try and soothe her tense muscles and to get her to relax. There was no danger here. She had to remember that fact a lot. She was in a place that was probably better protected than even Hogwarts in some respects, but that still didn't stop her from feeling very small and alone in the giant home. Once she had finished her shower, she had gone to her closet intending to put on her usual pajamas in an effort to be completely comfortable, but then she had noticed one of James' button-down shirts lying on the floor instead. She closed her eyes and sniffed the collar of the shirt she was now wearing, his lingering scent calming her slightly. If she couldn't have him there, this seemed to be the next best thing.

She had tried getting some more work done in their room, considering the space was smaller, more comfortable, and more familiar to her than anywhere else in the house, but she was still hearing noises. She glared over at their bed where Misty was all sprawled out. The cat's whole body was elongated over their comforter, and her eyes were closed. The fact that the feline was so at ease should have calmed her, but it only made her more irritable. She growled moodily at the cat, "Shouldn't you be sniffing out possible dangers? Or perhaps looking for mice that are making all of the weird scratching noises?"

Misty blinked over at her sleepily before just closing her eyes again and ignoring her. Lily humphed. She reluctantly let herself believe for the moment that if Misty wasn't all that worried, she shouldn't be either. She thought of the new sound that had distracted her this time so she could put a name to it to make it less frightening. It had sounded like…whooshing. The only thing she could possibly attribute this new sound to was the rain beginning to fall harder outside.

She glanced up at the window then, noting the faster rainfall and the sounds it made as it slashed fiercely against the windowpanes. This caused her eyes to dim. Bad weather usually meant James being kept away from her for longer because it made it harder for the Aurors out in the field to get away safely if undercover or disguised, especially if they were observing dangerous people that didn't know they were there. That saddened her.

James had been gone for five straight nights now, the longest he had ever been gone. When he had come back home that last time, he had told her that he had thought Moody had been planning a larger raid for his team that week. However, she hadn't realized that such a thing would take him away from her for so long. A night or two, she understood to some extent, but this was just so hard. James couldn't have been taking it any better, considering the letter she had gotten with her daily flower after the third night had been littered with curse words for Moody and the entire Auror program while he wished her well, told her he loved her, and that he was thinking of her always.

Lily turned her gaze over to the vase that stood on the nightstand next to her where the five flowers she had received over the last five mornings now remained. The assortment still looked beautiful, and she couldn't help but smile and appreciate the fact that James could probably conjure the most intricate and delicate items with ease. She briefly wondered if there would be a flower again for her in the morning. She knew the moment there wasn't, she would be freaking out in the Auror office thoroughly desperate for information about her husband. Heaven help whichever Auror she ran into first. She couldn't help worrying about him though. His work was so dangerous, especially right now.

Witches and wizards were still being killed left and right. There had been seven Dark Marks over various homes in the past two days alone. More families were being torn apart each day it seemed. That didn't even include the bizarre behavior of certain Ministry employees lately. There had been over a dozen confirmed cases of employees being held under the Imperious Curse this past week. It was hard to determine who you could still trust in the building. She supposed that the one man who suddenly started clucking like a chicken had been rather obvious, but the others had gone undetected for various periods of time— most for only a few days but one had been under the curse's influence for just over a month. Who knew what kinds of information had been yielded by these random workers? They had all been from different departments so the information could have included pretty much anything about the Ministry. The only department that hadn't been infiltrated had been her own, but with Rockwood currently working there, she supposed the invasion would have been unnecessary for Voldemort and more trouble than it would have been worth.

She closed her eyes briefly before looking back down at the research she had in her lap. How was she supposed to concentrate when her mind was constantly being drawn elsewhere? There was way too much to think about. There was way too much to worry about. She rotated her rings as her thoughts yet again strayed to her husband and how he was faring. If James wasn't back by sometime tomorrow, she was going to go see Moody and give him a talking to. Sirius had been gone for three nights in a row now too, and she knew some of the others had been gone for about that amount of time as well, but Moody couldn't expect his crew to work non-stop. They all needed a break. Just because James was talented didn't mean he didn't need a break every once and a while.

She inhaled deeply, trying to relax. After a few moments of some needed self-assurance, she turned back to her work. She had been working back in potions a bit, but her werewolf potion was still being kept on hold, considering her test subject was still being uncooperative. She frowned as she remembered Peter telling Sirius a few days ago about his confrontation with the werewolf over his actions during the past full moon with him not being in the shack. Apparently, Remus had told Peter fiercely to keep out of his business and that he didn't need him prying into his affairs. For some reason, Peter hadn't seemed all that upset about this and had looked almost amused as he told Sirius about their conversation in detail. Sirius, however, had been furious. Sure, Remus hadn't exactly been 'available' lately, but Sirius thought his behavior was ridiculous and uncalled for, especially when dealing with friends. He, himself, had dealt with persecution for being a Black and the suspicion from so many others that he might in fact be dark, but he had never isolated himself or had taken any of it out on his friends. Remus was dealing with his own condemnation in what Sirius appeared to be the more cowardly position— by taking it and not doing anything about it. Needless to say, she hadn't even attempted to discuss the potion with the elusive werewolf. James would likely be irritated with his friend when he found out too, but she also knew his irritation would be more due to his disappointment in Remus not standing up for himself more than anything else. James understood Remus' need to keep to himself about some things; he was like that too in a way.

She had also been helping others with their research lately more than taking on any project specifically. She had dropped a few potion tips, demonstrated a few charm wand movements that led to better results, and had spent a lot of time in the archival information looking for something to give her inspiration. She couldn't continue with her love research, not until Rockwood was no longer in the department at the very least. She had gotten away with telling Allen that she had reached a dead end with her love research for now, and she was leaving it until she had some new insights. Allen was always thrilled with her work so he had been happy to let her move on. The whole department was encouraging to make sure no one got too burnt out over one subject and understood that particular insights sometimes took a longer time to decipher than others. The archival information department was fascinating though. She had found so much information for charms, potions, and, however odd it seemed to her, transfiguration. She was looking forward to trying to question James about the subject without exactly telling him why.

Soon, she was immersed in reading about various potion ingredients and their sometimes overlooked properties. The noises started to fade into the background after awhile. In fact, the rain actually became more soothing than agitating…

Meanwhile, James apparated silently into the living room of his house. He slumped immediately against the back of the couch as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. His eyes flashed dangerously, and with his heightened emotions, it didn't surprise him any when his cloak disappeared with just a mere thought and the fire normally kept on low in the fireplace randomly swarmed with energy. He hadn't been home in five days. FIVE. Five ridiculously long and unnecessary days. Needless to say, he was furious with Moody as well as Dumbledore to a lesser degree.

Moody had had him on assignment looking over locations like he normally did in preparation for the larger raid he had been hoping to execute, but then after scrambling out a large group of Death Eaters only to capture none of them on the third night, they had found some evidence which had made it clear that Voldemort was after the Order and its members. The few documents found on location had various details about the Order and their next activities plus a list of some of its members and their approximate locations. He had no idea where Voldemort was getting the intel, but after meeting briefly with Dumbledore after the discovery, James had been incensed to learn that Dumbledore had thought and continued to think that someone in the Order must be a spy for the other side yet he hadn't thought to mention it to anyone. The suspicions had started after certain events had taken place that only the Order could have known about, like when he and Lily had ran into werewolves on lookout duty in Hogsmeade when no one outside the Order had known the schedule. Dumbledore had his reasons for withholding the possibility of a spy—he always did—but this was something a few of them should have been let in on. Dumbledore and others had brought more people into the Order, through word of mouth and otherwise, especially over the last few months. However, while some were actively involved, others were not, which left the suspect pool to be rather high.

Once this information had been brought to Moody's attention, the extremely overprotective man had gone into overdrive, barking out orders and protective measures that were to be taken, which left James with no choice but to remain on the job as an Auror…and on behalf of the Order. He could cast wards with ease, and they were not going to risk taking on an outside cursebreaker or someone else into their circle when the circle was already infiltrated. He had been stuck. When he had finally finished warding the extremely long list of areas Moody had handed him and had returned to the office expecting he was finally done for the time being, Moody had actually had the audacity to ask him to do something else without giving him time to return home first. James was not having any of it and practically blew up the Auror office lobby in his wake after telling Moody he would see him on Monday. His schedule as an Auror was supposedly Monday through Friday, despite on calls and some overnights, so he felt no remorse for telling Moody his remaining weekend was going to be off as it should be. He tried to forget the snickers that Fabian and Gideon had given him for his apparent tantrum on the way out. They had been out on the job nearly as long as he had this past week, and while they still seemed to have to report to Molly occasionally, they didn't have girlfriends or someone to go home to themselves so they didn't quite understand where James was coming from.

He glanced irritably down at his watch as he pushed himself away from the couch so he could head upstairs. It was 2:43am on Saturday morning. He resolved to not do anything that weekend but bask in being at home with Lily, whom he missed terribly. He didn't care that he was also going to be taking a weekend away with her the following weekend for his surprise anniversary weekend he had planned for them. He missed his wife so he was going to be where she was, and that was that. He wasn't even all that tired at the moment, considering his sleeping habits had been shot to hell over the past week, but he wanted nothing more than to curl up next to his wife in bed. The end.

He remained as quiet as possible as he approached the master bedroom, frowning a bit when he noticed a faint light under the door. He was sure Lily had been reading or working late into the night again. She tended to do that a lot when he wasn't around. He cracked the door after silencing the hinges, but he inhaled sharply and clamped his mouth shut to stop the low moan in his throat once he spotted her. She was always beautiful to him, but seeing her lying comfortably in the armchair in only his black button-down shirt was hands down the sexiest thing he had ever seen. Sure, she occasionally wore his old quidditch t-shirts and such, and he had always liked the possessive jolt seeing his last name scrawled across her back gave him, but this was something else entirely. This just screamed that she was his…and he absolutely loved it.

He waved his wand over at the bed, which was completely made up, and the comforter immediately turned down. He pulled his shirt over his head and removed the rest of his clothes save his boxers before approaching his sleeping wife. He magically lifted her work and books from her lap and left his wand and glasses near her vase of the flowers he had left for her over the days he had spent without her. He admired the view of her bare legs for a moment before murmuring 'nox' and gently lifting her into his arms so he could bring her to bed. He tried not to jostle her too much, considering she was a lighter sleeper than he was, but he still felt her tighten her arm around his neck and inhale audibly at the change in her position. Her sleepy voice was music to his ears, "James?"

He kissed her forehead as she tucked her face into his neck. He whispered, "Shhhh, it's just me. Go back to sleep, Lily love."

He set her down on the bed, and then crawled up next to her watching in delight as she stretched and shook her head in protest at the very idea of going back to sleep. She didn't hesitate and slid her entire body fully up against his and left a kiss on his neck. James sighed as he wrapped his arms around her. He had missed this so much. He had missed _her_ so much. He inhaled and enjoyed his favorite scent in the world before murmuring into her hair, "I love you.''

Lily's warm breath on his neck was highly distracting, but he didn't care. "I love you too, James." She shifted slightly so her bright green eyes could meet his hazel ones in the dark. She was so happy to have him home and with her now. As soon as she had smelt his unmistakable scent and had her arms around him, she had become awake instantly. She let her free hand graze his bare chest lightly as she rested her head next to his, "I missed you."

James found himself fisting his hands into his shirt that she was wearing. She was trying to kill him…again. He was sure she probably had had only a couple hours of sleep, and yet she was awakening things he figured would have to wait until later in the day. She was so damn seductive, and he was in no mood to dissuade her after seeing her in his shirt. He playfully flicked the collar of the shirt she was wearing as he teased her, "I can see that."

She rolled her eyes, but admitted somewhat sheepishly as she looked away from him, "It smells like you."

His hold flexed around her, bringing her even closer to his body so she wouldn't feel embarrassed, and he could tell immediately she wasn't wearing a bra, which did nothing to cool his ardor. He couldn't stop himself from trailing a few reassuring kisses down her neck and breathing her in deeply. He whispered against her soft skin, "You have no idea how much I missed you, Lils."

Hearing James basically tell her he needed her as much as she needed him made her mind go blank. Without any forethought whatsoever, she brought his lips to her own, and the two of them began kissing feverishly. Her hands tightened in his hair as he took control of the kiss, his tongue fully exploring her mouth. He pulled her leg higher up on his hip, and his arousal moving against her caused her to whimper into his mouth. His hand skimmed up the outside of her thigh, but as he pushed up the shirt she was wearing, he was momentarily shocked to find her hip completely bare. His hand tightened on her hip as he moaned against her lips, "Lily…"

Lily was breathless from their intense snogging, but she didn't think he should be so surprised. "I said I missed you, didn't I?"

Her husky and matter-of-fact question set him on fire. He rolled on top of her, and his mouth returned to hers with purpose. He suddenly pulled away mid-kiss, his lips and tongue nibbling and caressing down her jaw and neck instead. Lily moaned and tried to bring him back to her mouth, but James was not going to be deterred so he grabbed her hands off of him and put them over her head. When she tried to reach for him again when he let her go, she found she couldn't move them. Damn him and his wandless magic.

James had returned his attentions to her neck where he groaned appreciatively, considering he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted now without her distracting him. He let his hands skim slowly over her wonderful curves through his shirt while she had no choice but to let him. Lily was panting. It was the sweetest of all tortures for her. She was completely breathless and at his mercy as he slowly flicked the top button open and let his lips and tongue explore the small portion of new skin available with a slowness that was ridiculous since she knew he was as hyped up as she was. She arched her back into the contact, craving him more than ever. "James, this is cheating."

He chuckled slightly, and she caught his eyes in the dark. While she could see the lust and love she had always seen in them, tonight they were also full of mischief as he had the audacity to move even slower. She narrowed her eyes at him before changing her position a bit. She smiled sweetly over at him before sliding one of her legs up, caressing his arousal with her calf. His eyes darkened in that sexy way she loved, but instead of succumbing to her charms like usual, he slid his hands down to her hips to keep her in place and moved himself between her legs so she couldn't do that again. She felt him move against her and she moaned when nothing more than his boxers was in the way of what she knew they both wanted. However, James re-began his game of torture with a leisurely smug grin, which caused all of her thinking to go out the window.

James was having the time of his life teasing Lily, even if it was also teasing the hell out of him. He had completely unbuttoned that shirt of his and thoroughly enjoyed every inch of skin he had uncovered. As he continued to move lower and lower, Lily's sounds were becoming more and more needful, and the more he heard, the more he wanted to hear her lose it. He had given her plenty of orgasms, sure, but he hadn't seen her in five nights and he wanted nothing more than to make her insane with pleasure in that moment. He let his tongue and fingers begin to do things he had done before, but in his concentration and own enjoyment, he failed at keeping her arms at bay. The moment her hands were back in his hair and gripping onto his shoulders as she came, he wanted nothing more than to make love and have crazy sex with his wife all night.

Lily had other ideas. She was panting and feeling amazing bouts of tingly pleasure, but she wanted to touch him, taste him, and more. The moment she felt her hands were free and she had one of the best climaxes he had ever given her, she wanted nothing more than to torture him and repeat the process on him immediately. She flipped them over at James' distraction by her freedom, straddled him, and attacked his lips. She moaned when she could still taste herself on him.

James' hands shot to the back of her head, his fingers burying themselves in her hair. He groaned loudly into her mouth when she ground against his arousal gently, merely teasing him rather than giving him what he wanted in that moment—not to mention, her fingers were running softly over his stomach and moving slowly lower. He supposed turnabout was fair play and all that, but he wasn't having it right now. When she broke their kiss to breathe and sat back a bit, James took in the sight of her in nothing but his unbuttoned shirt, hair all ridiculously tousled, lips abused, and dark green eyes before christening it as his new favorite sight of all time. And with that, he reached up to snog her and flipped them both back over, despite Lily's slight protests against his lips.

He let go of her only enough to quickly remove his boxers before kissing back up her incredible body with purpose. Her hip bone. He nipped there first. Then, he licked his way up past her belly button enjoying the shudder he caused. His mouth skipped over to a nipple causing her to gasp slightly. He left a few kisses along her skin until he was licking the curve of her collarbone where he lingered. Lily used that time to try and appeal to him by pouting and trying to pretend like she wasn't going to torture him profusely like he had done to her, "James, I wanted to be on top."

Despite the memories and visual her sultry words gave him, he caught her lips with his, nibbling on them a bit to get her to moan and stop pouting at him. She knew that he would do whatever she wanted when he saw it so he distracted her because he wanted her now. He watched her eyes glaze over from whatever fierce expression must've been on his face as he pulled back just enough to look down at her before bringing his lips back down on hers to shush her, "Later."

She felt him near her entrance and she bucked her hips up near him in response. She whispered breathlessly against his lips, "Promise?"

He pulled back from her and his darkened hazel eyes seared into her as they roamed over her naked body intensely, "As many times as you want, baby."

And then, he thrust inside of her.

Lily arched her back and threw her head back with a moan as he pressed on her clit at the same time. His other hand moved to her leg, hitching it over his hip so he could have her body at the perfect angle as he began to move. He knew her body so well, and as his lips found the sensitive spot on her collarbone once more and he groaned out her name and some other expletive, she was suddenly grateful that today was Saturday because she knew they would likely be up for the rest of the night. She would likely torture him the next round, but the pleasure she was receiving distracted her thoughts and he was slowly being forgiven. Besides, she loved it when he called her baby.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40 – Surprises Around Every Corner

"Lily…Earth to Lily! Seriously, Lils, were you even listening to us speak at all?"

Lily blinked over at Christina startled before she felt her face start to heat up. Of course, she would pick the moment she was out to lunch with Christina and Alice to relive the amazing weekend she and James had had for their anniversary…umm, almost six weeks ago now. It wasn't her fault that as they discussed their own relationships with her that that was the first thing she thought about now. It was sad really. She couldn't exactly recall much about the large home James had taken her to in Monaco other than the various surfaces their bodies had explored…multiple times. She supposed they had taken the time to go out to eat, but other than that…

"Lily!"

Lily jumped for a second time when Christina called her name yet again, biting her lip this time before ducking her head in shame. The flush on her face was surely a full scale alarm now. Alice snickered at her. "Boy that must've been some daydream. I hope some of it was real."

Lily rolled her eyes when Christina belted out laughing. She reluctantly smiled at them both before at least admitting, "Oh, it was all real alright."

This just caused them both to laugh harder and fan themselves while they teased her about James 'taking care of her needs.' Lily watched the two of them laugh and felt her own smile grow wider, even if they were laughing at her expense. It had been a long time since the three of them had had plenty to laugh about. Alice had found out she was pregnant about two weeks ago at a planned check-up, which should've been a happy moment for her, but then she had also immediately found out Frank had been arriving to be admitted himself for serious magical injuries acquired during a raid. Lily had felt for her, considering it could have easily been James being admitted. As it was, James had been the one to bring Frank to St. Mungo's with a busted lip and a broken arm himself.

Christina, though, had been rather withdrawn due to fighting with Sirius. She had wanted to live with him, but had felt he didn't care about her enough to do that due to his hesitance on the subject. James, on the other hand, had determined that Sirius was just acting pigheaded about having his freedom and not wanting to jump the ball so to speak. After a lack of communication between the two of them and plenty of discussions with both James and Lily on their own, James and Lily had had enough so they had pushed them both to talk to one another and work something out. Eventually, Sirius fully explained himself over the situation with Christina and after the two of them had been discussing things for the past two weeks—this time together as they should have done in the first place—the two of them had finally made the decision to move in together next weekend. For Lily and James, it had been a nightmare to sort through. At least now, both of their friends were happy once again.

Lily just shook her head and tried to be more involved in their conversation, "Ok, so what did I miss?"

Alice rolled her eyes and took a huge bite of her sandwich with a moan. "Oh Merlin, does this taste divine… Not much, Lils. We were just basking in the greatness that this deli has to offer. We should venture out for lunch out here in _real_ London more often."

Lily snickered quietly at Alice's attempt to not say the word 'muggle' aloud before turning her attention back to her own tomato and mozzarella pesto sandwich she had been neglecting. She had wanted it immediately when she had seen it, having loved them for most of her childhood, but after having a few bites, it did not seem all that delicious to her anymore. In fact, the sandwich made her stomach turn, and that had been the reason she had taken off into her daydreams in the first place. She reluctantly took another bite, but the taste made her almost wince as she forced herself to swallow. She felt nauseous. Christina saw and looked concerned. "You ok?"

Lily nodded, but frowned at her food. "I think so, but this sandwich has to be bad. I normally love these, but not today and not this sandwich."

Alice perked up and leaned over to smell it. "Mmmmmmm, it smells ok to me." She winked at her. "May I? I'm the one with the potent senses at the moment."

Lily passed her the sandwich easily, not wanting it near her anymore. Alice took a bite out of it and continued to mmmm in appreciation. Apparently, the sandwich was just not meant for her today. She smiled weakly at Alice. "It's all yours then."

Alice nodded before she began to talk rapidly amidst taking bites now from both sandwiches, "Thanks. I've been craving everything. Poor Frank. Everything smells good, tastes good. The poor guy went to the store for me yesterday because the house smelled like cheesecake, but we didn't have any. I think I scared him."

Christina snorted. "That's because you probably did! You're lucky you don't have too much sickness. My mum used to tell me all about how I made her sick. That was her way of telling me to behave." She imitated her mother, "Now, Chrissy, would you really do that to your mother after you used to cause her to have so much morning sickness she could barely function? When are you going to cut me a little slack? It wasn't even morning sickness, it was all day sickness! Blah blah blah!" She chuckled and murmured so the muggles wouldn't overhear, "I was such a little magical troublemaker."

Alice laughed and continued understatedly, "I can see you being so. I was pretty normal as a little girl. I didn't even show magic until almost nine. It was so odd. And no sickness yet. I hope that sticks. I love to eat all of these new foods. I've been trying tons of things that I've never had before."

Christina smirked over at Lily. "Well, I was no Lily Evans, of course."

Lily rolled her eyes as she murmured, "Haha. So I was a magical deviant in front of muggles. Sue me."

Christina just bit her lip before stating with feigned casualty that really screamed facetiousness, "No wonder you and James hit it off. Secretly, you were just as much of a troublemaker."

Alice laughed, her eyes reflecting her own humor over that knowledge. While Alice had always kept to herself when they had been in school, likely to keep the peace among all of her housemates, she had confided in her previously that she had secretly been rooting for James to show her he wasn't so bad. Alice had known James growing up, being a pureblood herself, so she had known more of his true personality before Lily really did. For Chrissy to tease her about her own magical deviance in a muggle household, Lily was sure Alice found her and James' relationship quite ironic. "I knew all those good grades and manners were just smoke to hide the truth."

Lily huffed at them both and bit her lip to keep her own grin from showing. James always made her smile nowadays. "No, the good grades and manners were true too. I just liked doing magic when I was little, and I didn't care who saw."

They sat and chatted for a while, but it wasn't long before they all had to go back to work. Alice was now doing mostly paperwork in the Auror office, writing up Auror reports and compiling information for future raids. Since she was pregnant, she and Frank had determined it would be safer for her to not be in the field. Christina had the weekly meeting for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad this afternoon so she had been around to join them both for lunch. Lily walked with the girls to the elevator, but she stayed on the longest. As always, she was the last one on the elevator by the time it reached its stop at the Department of Mysteries. She held her wand at the ready as she hurried through the dark hallway toward the circular entryway, trying to get to her work area as quickly as possible. She spotted Rockwood working at his desk, which caused her to slow down and walk a bit more assuredly toward her own. As long as she knew where he was, work was never a problem for her.

As she reached her desk, a voice close behind her made her jump. She hadn't even heard anyone approach. "Hello, Lily."

Lily put a hand on her heart as she turned around quickly, her breath coming out in a small gasp. Arielle Lovegood stood there blinking at her, completely oblivious with the fact that Lily could've hexed her all the way across the room in surprise. "Arielle, you surprised me. How are you?"

She sat down at her desk, as she waited an exorbitantly long time for her heart rate to slow down again. It normally didn't take _that_ long for her to relax. And was it hot in here or was it just her? Arielle just smiled at her hugely as she sunk down in the chair across from her, still not even concerned with Lily's distractions. "Congratulations!"

Lily gaped at her, her mind still not caught up to wherever Arielle was. "Err, for what?"

Arielle giggled. "For lots of things, but first and foremost, the amazing wand movement you came up with made one of my spells actually dispel Chimeroos! They no longer have spots so that means that their genetic disease was cured. It only took the right wave of magic!"

Lily blinked at her. "Right. Umm, I'm glad I was able to help."

Arielle waved her off, her blue doe eyes staring straight through her. "You're always so modest, Lily. You need to learn to take credit when credit is due. I also wanted to check on you and see if you were feeling alright. I noticed you looking peaky earlier today, and right now, your coloring still seems a bit pale yet."

Lily was more than a bit stressed now. Maybe she was getting sick? It had been a while since she had felt so scatterbrained and tired. It must be bad if someone else was noticing her looking feverish. However, this _was_ Arielle Lovegood. The woman missed nothing. "I don't know. I think I'm fine."

Arielle observed her closely…almost _too_ closely. Her scrutiny was always a bit uncomfortable because she was so observant it was impossible. Naturally, Lily began to fidget under her heavy gaze, moving her hair out of her eyes and running her hand over her clothes to fix them a bit. Her cheeks felt hot again. She didn't think she was blushing, but was she? Arielle slowly smiled at her. The knowing way Arielle was looking at her began to unnerve her. A lot. "Congratulations indeed. I hope you feel better. Thanks for your help once again. And don't worry, you two will be fine…better than fine, I'm sure."

As she got up to leave, Lily couldn't help feeling confused. Why was Arielle mentioning that she and James would be ok? That was weird. Arielle turned back around suddenly, her back completely straight. "Oh! Here, take this. This made Xeno's sister feel better. Oh, where did I put it?"

Arielle looked through the many pockets hanging within her odd teal and magenta robes before she handed Lily a teabag. Arielle winked at her conspiratorially. "Now, I know I might not be a Potions whiz like you, but this has some nice fresh ingredients. Promise."

Lily looked at the teabag and could see some common items like cinnamon, spearmint, and ginger, but there were also some white-yellow flower petals of some kind and green tea leaves. Since she didn't see anything remotely dangerous about the teabag, she gave it a try. The tea actually soothed her nausea, and to her surprise, she was able to make it through the rest of her workday. She thanked Arielle profusely as the two of them walked to leave, but the unusual blonde waved her off insisting, "It was no trouble, Lily. And the flower is from a vanilla orchid."

James was standing in the hallway waiting for her, and the sight of him caused her heart to beat faster and her demeanor to perk up. Arielle chuckled at her before bemusedly saying goodbye and hello to both of them respectively. James looked back at Lily blankly after they watched Arielle walk in a zig zag fashion toward the elevator with the other Mysteries employees giving her a wide berth. Lily chuckled up at him, not really having a word to describe the phenomenon that was Arielle. She kissed him quickly. "Don't ask. I have no idea."

His hands smoothed over her hair as he searched her eyes for a moment just then. As he tilted his head in his scrutiny, Lily sighed. When he did that, she knew he wouldn't relent for hours. It was his cue that he was sure she was not telling him something. She instantly tried to reassure him, "I'm fine. Really."

James looked affronted at her for dismissing his Lily radar so quickly. "You look tired. Beautiful, but tired. Come on, let's get you home."

She let him lead the two of them, not even questioning him when he pulled her into his arms and apparated the two of them home. He put her to bed immediately. He looked at her with his rare no-nonsense face. "Rest. I'll have the house elves fix you something for later."

She didn't have the heart to argue with him so she obediently closed her eyes. She felt him kiss the side of her head, but let herself fall off into slumber. Her body was so damn exhausted so she might as well kip off for a few extra hours, although she had no idea where her exhaustion stemmed from. It wasn't like her day had been physically demanding. The only thing that had been different about her day had been…wait. Just what the hell had been in that tea?

James was troubled as he walked away from the master bedroom after putting Lily to bed. He had never seen Lily sick before, but he was sure she was sick now. When magical persons got sick, it usually wasn't too serious unless it was Dragon Pox so he knew she would feel better soon, but he hated that he couldn't make her feel better now. He himself had only been sick a handful of times growing up, mainly spending time in the hospital wing or emergency room for more serious injuries because he had been a rambunctious male. He had hated the sick feeling though and felt awful that Lily was feeling that way now.

"Prongs."

James pulled the small, jagged mirror out of his back pocket as he walked downstairs to go get himself some dinner. "What's up, Padfoot?"

Sirius' face was slightly obscured in the broken glass, but he could hear him easily, "We're supposed to meet at the warehouse tomorrow night. Dumbledore wants to have a meeting, but it's being told person to person to try and prevent any extra ears. I'm supposed to tell you, Red, and the rest of us."

James nodded, but he hoped Lily was going to be ok enough to even go tomorrow. He knew she would probably be stubborn with him if he insisted she stay home to rest. "Sure."

Sirius looked at him curiously, his gaze wandering, obviously straining to look around for Lily. Unless they were working or busy for whatever reason, he and Lily were hardly seen without the other if they could help it. "Where's Red? I figured you two would be making dinner since you both should've just gotten home."

James sighed. "I think she's feeling sick. She was really tired. I put her to bed."

Sirius' eyes widened. "And she listened?"

When James nodded, Sirius looked faint. James couldn't help grinning back at his best mate before he stated indignantly, "You know, she does listen to me sometimes."

Sirius snorted. "Sure, sure. Christina mentioned she didn't eat much at lunch today. Probably just a bug."

James' brow furrowed at that knowledge though. Lily hadn't eaten much over the past week either. She had sort of stared at her meals a bit before declaring herself finished. He hadn't really thought too much over it, mainly because the woman ate so little in general, but if she was not really eating anything all day…now, he was concerned. "You think?"

The one eye visible to him on Sirius' face rolled distinctively up at him in exasperation. "Quit the worry party, Prongs. Red is a big girl."

James sighed, but he knew he was going to keep the issue in mind for later. He went for distraction instead, "If you say so. Plans set for your new place finally? I know you had to go sign a few things today."

It was Sirius' turn to sigh. "Yeah…" He hesitated a few seconds before asking so quickly James barely understood him, "You-don't-think-Chrissy-wants-me-to-propose-before-the-move-in,-do-you?"

James blanched, slightly unsure how to respond to the random question. "Umm, no?"

The fact that Sirius looked stricken by his incredulous reply indicated that this had been weighing heavily on his mind. The fact that this question was finally even being asked also meant that it was something Sirius had likely been stewing over for weeks. Sirius never brought up 'serious' topics unless he could no longer deal with them alone. His voice was more nervous than James had heard from him in a while when he yelped out hastily, "You sure?"

James thought about it more intently for a minute before he asked Sirius quietly, "Have you talked about this with Christina at all?" Predictably, Sirius shook his head so James continued, "Well, that would be the place to start. However…your relationship has always been different than mine with Lily so I think the move-in itself has given Christina reason to believe you want her in your life for long-term. That's my assumption though. However, I do have to ask…do you _want_ to propose?"

When his best mate remained quiet and not looking at him, James prompted him, "Sirius?"

Sirius seemed to hold his breath a moment or two before he finally admitted, "Not really. Well, not right _now_ anyway."

James nodded. "Well then, ok. You asked her to move-in, and she accepted so that's where you are. Don't think ahead until you want to, but while you _should_ talk about things with her, I'll listen if you want…well, when you _are_ ready. Deal?"

Sirius' whole demeanor began to relax. As he changed topics and began to discuss more concerns about Remus, James only listened half-heartedly as he started preparing some food with Penny's help in the kitchen. It wasn't like Remus' stand-offish behavior wasn't concerning to him; it just didn't bother him as much as it bothered Sirius. He did find some of Remus' secretive behavior or evasions to their direct questions a bit odd, but he had seen Remus talking quietly with Dumbledore on occasion so perhaps it was just something for the Order. Whatever it was, he knew that he did not like people prying into his business so he did not want to pry into Remus' either. Sirius just liked to know everything. It was in his nature to be nosy.

After listening to Sirius debate a number of problems along with Ministry, Auror, and Order business, he found himself wasting time in the library so he wouldn't bother Lily while she rested. However, when he randomly felt fingers run through his hair while he read, he started ridiculously and flew off the armchair ready to attack. His wand fumbled through his fingers in his haste and when he dove for it, he heard a stifled giggle that sounded incredibly familiar. His hazel eyes shot up, and he was sure they were comically wide. Lily had her hands covering her mouth as she tried not to laugh at him, although her green eyes were alight with mirth. She was now wearing her dressing gown over a tank top and a pair of shorts, her hair pulled up in a ponytail. He humphed and wandlessly summoned his fallen wand jerkily before hissing to her, "That was _not_ funny."

She continued to giggle, and he was happy at least to see her looking better and less peaky than she had earlier. Her laughter had brought out the natural flushed hue to her face that he was used to. "Yes, it was. Merlin, you should have seen your face."

He growled at her playfully before grabbing her and pulling her onto his lap in the armchair he had been sitting on previously. "Ok, funny girl. Laugh it up. I'll get you back."

She continued to smile into his neck, but she hit him playfully in the chest as she got comfortable on his lap. "Nah, not when I have that moment as blackmail for a long, long time, Mr. Auror."

James groaned into her neck as she continued to laugh quietly. He inhaled her sweet scent and rubbed her back a bit for a moment. He hesitated before asking her tentatively, "You feeling a little better? You hungry?"

When she hesitated, he looked over at her to search her face. She looked uncertain. "I don't know really. I mean, I _think_ I feel better."

He wasn't sure if she would get defensive, but he couldn't stop himself from mentioning it anyway. Sometimes his mouth acted on its own accord. "You haven't been eating all that much lately. I think you should have something."

Lily frowned, but didn't immediately dismiss him. She stated quietly, "I don't know. Some things have just smelled or tasted funny to me this past week."

He thought over her words, but he wasn't going to let the matter drop. She had always been a bit on the small side so he was not about to sit and watch her get any smaller. He tightened his hold around her as she leaned back against his chest. He tried to goad her into it by teasing into her ear, "Well, what do you have a taste for then? I'll let you in on a secret… In a magical house with house elves, you can have _whatever_ you want."

Lily snorted and was shaking slightly as she continued to giggle in his lap. When she sighed and relaxed back into him, he waited for her to throw out any suggestion that he would make sure she ate completely. He only had to wait a few seconds before she finally murmured softly, "Eggs sound good. Or pancakes."

He rolled his eyes at her predictable response, grateful that she couldn't currently see his face otherwise she would have smacked him or something for mocking her likes. He couldn't resist teasing her though, "What is with you and liking breakfast for dinner?"

She laughed. "It's my favorite meal."

He groaned as he lifted the both of them off of the chair so he could take them to the kitchen. Lily tried to get down, but he just held her more tightly as he maneuvered her around bridal style. He wiggled his eyebrows down at her with a smile. "Nope. Let me get you fed, Lils. You aren't going to lift a finger."

She just giggled into his neck as he carried her. She placed a quick kiss on the spot just behind his ear before softly telling him, "Thank you, James."

He kissed her lips gently as he set her down on the kitchen counter. He looked back at her sternly, pointing at her playfully. "You're most welcome, my love. Now, don't you move! Not even a little bit."

Lily bit her lip to stop her smile as she watched him work quickly in the kitchen to make her breakfast late in the evening with Reeny trying to silently help him by getting him everything he needed. He really was impossibly good to her. She felt like the luckiest girl in the whole world. When he winked back over at her and shook his ass when he noticed her staring at him, she couldn't help but laugh. Even feeling slightly under the weather couldn't stop the loving and happy feeling that came with being around her husband, the man who made everything around her infinitely better.

James tried to hide his disgruntled features as he walked briskly next to his wife who was now mostly ignoring him. However, he knew that he hadn't quite pulled it off if the sideways glare Lily sent him was anything to go by. To a lesser man, or at least, someone other than him who had been on the receiving end of that glare for years, that glare would cause him to cower and try to immediately fix whatever was wrong. James, though, ignored it, which in turn, probably made her even angrier. He didn't care really. She was being difficult, and he had done nothing wrong.

Lily had come home from work again looking exhausted and when she wouldn't take another nap and had barely eaten her dinner, he suggested that she maybe kip out early instead of going to the meeting tonight. He could easily tell her about it tomorrow, and hopefully she would get better instead of prolonging whatever bug she might have. He should have known his suggestion would start a war, but sometimes he couldn't stop himself from speaking.

That had led to them bickering with each other until it was time to go, and Lily had just apparated away without him. They always apparated to the same place so it wasn't like he couldn't follow her, but that wasn't the point. They always left _together_. He knew that _she_ knew that he liked them to go places together, and she had used it against him. She knew just what buttons to push and knew that her actions would piss him off. So here they both were, approaching the abandoned warehouse, practically hostile with one another. It was going to be a long, _long_ evening.

There were two soft cracks up ahead, and he looked up almost in relief at noticing Sirius and Christina. They were both laughing together and happy, which made James a little sad he wasn't also feeling the same way. Sirius turned to him with his wide grin, "Hey, Prongs! Look, we're early! Who would've thought? And Red, how you been? You feeling better?"

Lily rolled her eyes and leveled James with another glare before stating firmly, "I'm _fine_." James again purposefully ignored the glare, dusting off invisible dust from his shirt instead, which caused her to fume quietly. She huffed, "I'll see you all inside."

James watched her quick departure with a wince and only then let his face fall. He really, really hated fighting with her now that they were together. And just like when they had been in school, she always seemed to win. It must be a girl thing. Christina flinched slightly when the door slammed closed wandlessly in her wake. She looked over at him, her blue eyes wide. "What in the world did you do, James?"

He scowled at her for immediately thinking it was his fault. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing! She's sick, and she should be resting. She knows it. I know it. She's just being difficult."

Sirius snickered at him, but Christina just sighed and gave him a look. "You know better than to butt heads with her though. She's the most predictable grouch in the whole world."

James was indignant. "I know, but she needs to see reason. I am just concerned. Did you know she barely ate anything again today? She still went to work, wouldn't sleep, and is exerting herself for no reason. I could have just told her about this meeting tomorrow. She—"

He had heard a scuffle of some kind or a crash so he abruptly stopped talking and glanced at the building carefully. The warehouse was dark in the night sky. There was only a single lamp post on the corner illuminating the area. There were a few muggle taverns around the corner, but the noise had not stemmed from there. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but his gut told him something was amiss. He saw his two friends eye him curiously, but that changed when they all heard something akin to spell fire. James flew into action, running toward the warehouse. The two of them might be mad at each other over something silly, but Lily was his whole world. When he heard a familiar yelp in the distance, he pushed himself to move even faster.

As soon as he was inside, he skidded to an abrupt halt, his Auror mentalities noticing that the wide open floor plan of the first floor was not exactly the best area to just run through. Since the warehouse was old and downtrodden, the once filled open floor was now nothing more than empty space and lingering debris. The second floor was mostly an open metal aisle, and since that was where most of the spell fire was coming from down the way, the Death Eaters would have the advantage from being up high. They could just look over the railings and take them out easily. The warehouse inside only had red lights reflecting various parts of the building so they may have a somewhat cover in the partial darkness, but the best way was still to get to the only stairwell to the second level. That stairwell was on the far side of the warehouse near the loading docks. Lily would have taken that route to reach the third floor, which housed the old office rooms. The Order normally met in one of the far rooms up there.

His friends moved in behind him looking around frantically. He urged them to follow him, and they carefully took to the wall so they could make it to the stairs with no one surprising them from behind. The amount of spells flying around indicated there were lots of people involved. He and Lily hadn't been too early so he was crossing his fingers that there were more Order members already upstairs fighting their way back down with her. He saw someone fall off from the aisle further ahead, but it was a masked person, indicating a Death Eater. He quickly bound the wizard from afar. They were just coming up to the stairs when his blood ran cold. He heard laughter, haunting laughter from a time he would rather forget.

James did not care now. He ran up the stairs as fast as he could. He had to get to Lily. He had to make sure she was safe. He didn't get very far. Part of the second floor aisle had crumbled down from some of the rampant spells, blocking him access to the rest of the heightened area. There were sparks of electricity shooting all over as the wires and cords that had run through the iron walkway were pulled apart so abruptly. The rubber embedded in the base of the metal aisles was the only thing keeping the entire place from lighting up like a Christmas tree. There was also a gaping hole separating the two areas that was far too large for him to jump over. He and Sirius systematically stunned a few Death Eaters who had their backs turned to them, but he saw the remaining ones all moving further down the walkway toward the stairwell to the office rooms on the third floor. He knew that following behind them on that level would not help anything, but maybe following underneath them would be more productive. His heart began to pound heavily. He had to get to her. He had to find her.

There was another crash and commotion further in the distance, so James dropped back down to the main floor, wrapping some errant rubber around his hands to keep him grounded in case the wild electrical lines sought to light him up. He tried to keep himself underneath the walkway of the second floor aisle, out of sight. He signaled to Sirius and Christina to go around another way as he moved cautiously toward where he could see spells reflecting a few ways away. Since he had no idea where Lily or other Order members may have been standing, he couldn't just blow up the second floor from below as much as he wanted to.

A stray and powerful Reducto was sent up into the heightened ceiling, causing even more rafters and lights to come crashing down. There was now a live electrical wire flipping and flopping about directly in his path. James quickly sent a cutting curse up at the wire to cut it shorter so there would be no accidents. The second floor was now all but destroyed, in parts anyway, as the crashed pieces devoured parts of the iron walkway. When he saw a flash of red hair running along the first floor far wall, he realized Lily must have created her own way back downstairs. He sped up when he saw her shielding heavily with no real offense. When he saw her shield take on a golden hue, he knew the curses coming her way were far from tame. As he got closer to where she was, he could hear who she was dueling. Voldemort was toying with her, barely even trying really, as he threw dark curses her way, watching coldly as she dodged or blocked them with her advanced knowledge of shielding. He was taunting her. James had to steal the focus onto him if he was going to get Voldemort away from her. Just as he was almost close enough to do so, a cutting curse nearly took his arm off.

He was incensed at the distraction and began casting at his attacker in earnest. Now that he was in a battle frame of mind, he could see and hear more voices and more spells coming from everywhere. The others that were due to arrive for the meeting had finally come. Some had been there already like he had suspected. However, the Death Eater numbers also seemed much larger than he remembered. Even as he fought his way toward where Lily and Voldemort were, his attention was completely on his wife.

Voldemort's taunts were more audible the closer he got to them, "So Mrs. Potter, tell me, what is it like to be married to a blood traitor? Is it the same as being forced to endure the scent of your dirty blood? Your parents, in particular, were a nasty flavor."

Lily's eyes were dark as she managed to send a bone breaking curse at Voldemort's wand hand. He answered with two killing curses, sent almost purposefully obscure. James soon realized he was moving her into a corner. Voldemort continued his drabble, "Yes, that bothers you. Of course, it does." He sniffed at her before looking her over more seriously as though he caught a scent of something important, "My, my, what's this? Lily Potter, pregnant? And James let you out of his sights and into the foray? I never thought I'd see the day. This will certainly make things more interesting."

James felt himself stop suddenly, and his gaze shot to his wife in shock. Surely, she would've told him. However, the look of surprise on his wife's face told him that she had had no idea. Taking advantage of the distraction, Voldemort fired a blasting curse her way, but in her shock, she hadn't raised a shield to block it and was about to be thrown forcibly into the wall. Without thinking, James had his wand up. He didn't even remember casting, but as he watched Lily fly back into the wall, he noticed it had inadvertently become soft and she bounced back onto the ground. She landed gently onto a conjured mattress of some sort. At the sight of the difficult transfigurations, Voldemort scowled heavily and turned sharply around.

James was fuming. He saw nothing but red where Voldemort was concerned. How dare he throw curses at his pregnant wife—if, in fact, she was even pregnant in the first place. Regardless, he would think on that fact later. He couldn't be distracted. He barely even noticed Lily looking over at him as he started throwing a rain of dark curses at Voldemort, stealing all of the monster's attention. He nodded to Sirius out of the corner of his eye, and he could tell that his quiet message was received. Get Lily the hell of here.

Lily stared blankly into the mattress that she was suddenly lying on. One word seemed to reverberate in her mind over and over. A word she should have considered more than a few days ago. _Pregnant_. She should've considered… She should've….

She looked up hastily, suddenly remembering that she was in the middle of a duel with Voldemort. She could not think on this right now. However, Voldemort was now battling her husband who looked furious. She glanced back down at the mattress and realized her husband had done it again, protecting her without any forethought because he loved her. She wasn't sure if James was that angry over her, Voldemort, or Voldemort's declaration, but there was no way she was going to let him be reckless. She urged herself to get up and was about to start casting, when suddenly her view was obscured.

Sirius was in front of her and knocked her wand arm down as he scolded her, "Nuh, uh. I don't think so, Red. You are coming with me."

Lily scowled at him. "Black, you can't just let him fight with Voldemort! We need to help him! We need to—"

Christina came up behind Sirius and cut her off, "No, Lily. James will just provide a distraction. Dumbledore is already here. I saw him. Let's get some of our people to St. Mungo's. Umm, you can get looked at there too."

Lily blinked at her before looking down at herself carefully, completely uncertain for the moment. Sirius touched her shoulder. "Come on, Red. He'll be fine. I promise."

As soon as Sirius brought them outside, he handed them a brick. His grey eyes were completely focused as he spoke to them methodically, "Take this portkey. It will take you both to St. Mungo's. Make sure you hold onto Hestia and the few muggles that got caught in the foray over there. Go."

Christina jumped at him and kissed him fiercely before pulling Lily away with her. Lily looked back over her shoulder at Sirius, the uncertain question about James in her eyes. Sirius nodded to her with a lopsided grin before he turned back to go inside where there was still fighting going on in the distance.

James didn't stop or hesitate, keeping his casts quick and methodical. He felt like he was in an Auror demonstration as he completed drills in the wrong order and kept repeating sequences that seemed to work. He didn't give Voldemort any time to talk or he would lose his focus. Any words Voldemort had to say, he did not want to hear anyway. He was familiar enough with Voldemort's way of battling that he knew the monster wanted to push buttons to get a hasty, foolish reaction that he could take advantage of. As it was, a part of him still dwelled on his wife. He knew that Sirius would not let him down so he was sure Lily was safe, wherever he had taken her to, but he still found his mind wandering…wondering.

A dark orange spell flew past his ear so he renewed his efforts once more. He had seen a flash of fire all the way upstairs, but he was sure Dumbledore was tied up elsewhere or he would have relieved him by now. Dumbledore had already expressed to him his desire to keep him out of the way, particularly after the kidnapping debacle. James understood, to an extent. He was his grandson. Of course, Dumbledore worried for him, but a part of him felt that this was his fight. He had no idea why, but the feeling was still there. Voldemort was a foe he found himself trying to take the lead on a lot of the time.

Voldemort suddenly seemed to tire of all of the effort he was currently exerting with him and randomly threw a slew of Killing Curses his way, forcing him to roll away and conjure a large stone wall to take one of them. The tiny stone pieces hurt more than he had thought they would as they exploded directly in front of him. In that one moment of pain, he inadvertently met Voldemort's fierce red gaze. That was all it took for the fight's tide to change. Voldemort shouted, "LEGLIMENS!"

James couldn't remember exactly what happened, but he was suddenly clutching at his head, his wand carelessly thrown to the side. The pain was excruciating and as he struggled fiercely to focus, all he saw was nothing but the reel of memories of Lily yelling at him over the years flying through his vision. It was his warning. This was his first line of defense. As he thought of his wife inadvertently, the thoughts shifted to one of Lily laughing with him and conversing with him not long ago. James struggled harder to collect himself, but his body felt useless and his head still felt like it was exploding. As his memories of Lily slowly began progressing further back, he realized what Voldemort was doing; he was perusing all of his past conversations with his wife. He knew that whatever James knew of his family had been shared with her.

As Voldemort got closer and closer to the wedding, James finally had enough. He felt himself lashing out, but he had no control over whatever he was doing. He heard windows shatter and felt the air around him swirl, but nothing seemed to be powerful enough to break the connection. Through his haze, he was finally able to see Voldemort struggling to keep his wand on him. Now that he had a focal point, he released whatever energy he had left as he slammed his hands on the ground in front of him. The action caused his head to throb worse than before, but he vaguely saw a trail of fire leaving him from all sides heading straight for Voldemort.

Voldemort's gaze hardened and his jaw tensed as he reluctantly released his hold on James' mind to shield himself from the flames. James fell forward, completely spent. His breaths were coming in short gasps, but he knew his mind was his own once again. He had zero energy to get back up so it was a good thing Dumbledore, Sirius, and others all started in on Voldemort finally. Voldemort snarled angrily before encapsulating himself in a shield and disappearing entirely. James rolled his eyes. Figures they all forgot to have an apparition ward in place.

Sirius was at his side quickly, looking him over. His grey eyes were looking at him pretty incredulously. "Mate, are you ok? What the hell was that?"

James blinked at him, still completely groggy. He coughed before stating resignedly, "_That_ was why you should have learned Occlumency when we were kids."

Sirius gave him the weirdest stare. "That's not what I was talking about."

As Sirius' gaze strayed to the area around them, James' eyes began to widen as he was able to see that his raw magic had thoroughly decimated the place. There was black soot everywhere, starting from him all the way to the walls where he had shattered the windows. Even the metal from the second floor aisle that had given way looked charred and melted beyond repair. "Oh."

Sirius smirked. "Remind me not to piss you off, Prongs."

James listened half-heartedly as Dumbledore directed the remaining Order members to begin cover-up operations before Ministry officials and the muggle policemen arrived. They were going to have to cause a muggle gas leak to start the place up in flames, due to all of the damage to the place. Old, abandoned warehouse or not, they had to make sure the magical damage was not found by muggles. Dumbledore had gazed at him with concern more than a few times, but he hadn't exactly been hurt. He was just exhausted.

He was in need of a restorative or two, but his main focus was getting back to his wife to find out if she was alright. He thought back on Voldemort's declaration then, his heart beating faster at the idea he had pushed to the back of his mind. It was something he had always wanted, but now? Was he ready? Was _she_ ready? They honestly had never even really talked about it in a serious context before. He guiltily knew it was entirely possible. While they were regular users of the contraception charm, he remembered them casting it late occasionally or allowing their previous cast to last twelve hours or so like it was supposed to. However, if it was _his_ cast, would it have lasted that long? Lily's of course, but one of _his_ charms? He remembered how long some of his general charms lasted, and he knew they did not last the complete time frame they were supposed to. Then, there were the times where they had forgotten and cast it late. A few of their more recent encounters sprang to mind. It was entirely possible. A part of him was overjoyed at the thought while the other half was freaked out.

Sirius pulled him roughly up to his feet, but held onto him a bit more firmly when he started swaying. "James, I was calling your name. Let's go. I sent the girls to St. Mungo's. You need to get looked at anyway."

James blinked at him. "Right."

Sirius rolled his eyes before his face tinted with thorough amusement. "Wow, Jim. You are a zombie at the moment."

James' eyes narrowed, but before he could respond at all, something came at him hard and knocked the wind completely out of him. When he spat out a wad of familiar looking dirty blonde hair he had inadvertently inhaled, he realized that the tiny cement truck that had attacked him was Lauren. He didn't think he'd get a word in edgewise even if he was able to gather enough of a breath to speak, "…was so worried! I can't believe you! Such an idiot! Thank Merlin you're alright! If I wouldn't kill you, I'm sure Lily would…well, then Sirius, of course. Well, he would at least bury your body for her or clean up after her once she calmed down. I think even Remus and Peter would have tried to add their own abuse. Moody, for sure. And Dumbledore…"

James interrupted her before she could keep going, patting her back half-heartedly to soothe her even if raising his hand felt like picking up a giant rock, "Lauren, I'm ok. Really."

She pulled out of the stranglehold hug she had him in abruptly, and her hazel eyes looked murderous. She pointed a finger at him menacingly, her stare practically blazing. "Don't you ever do that to me…or Lily…ever…again. Comprenez?"

James gulped. He doubted he had ever been more afraid of Lauren in his life. There had been a particularly scary few weeks in the months when they had been in school together, but nothing could compare to this moment. In fact, if this was Lauren's version, he was quite fearful of Lily's reaction. He gazed over carefully at Sirius, who was also eyeing Lauren like he was waiting for her to blow up. As Lauren began to huff, he immediately answered her with complete sincerity, "Lauren, I will do my absolute best to see that nothing like this ever happens again."

Her stare was still hard, but she slowly loosened the death grip she had still had on his shoulder and stepped back from him. Her demeanor slowly returned to that of the little sister he was more familiar with. She beamed at him. However, her smile began to fall as she realized she had been partially holding him up after Sirius had moved out of her way. Sirius immediately stepped in to help, but James felt his eyes close heavily. He was barely aware of their voices around him as he felt his body fall into unconsciousness.

Lily squeezed her eyes shut as she felt her body shoved violently through the floo network. The fast movement was more than a little nauseating so she covered her mouth and nose, held her breath, and forced her eyes back open. She saw Potter Manor in the distance and stepped onto it, lurching slightly forward into the very familiar parlor, one seemingly glowing and decorated overnight for Christmas. The house elves apparently had gone a bit too far when she had given them the go ahead just yesterday. She closed her eyes briefly, hoping her stomach's contents would stay strong. Her breath came out in short bursts. She hated the floo network…violently. Scarily enough, she would rather fly. It was going to be a real pain in the ass to not apparate for about eight more months.

The worry, dismay, hope, scared, and anxious feelings returned to her immediately upon thinking of the truth she had learned back at St. Mungo's. Her eyes closed as she leaned against the back of the couch across from the fireplace and thought back on the last insane twenty minutes.

She had immediately evaded Christina in the busy waiting room, knowing her way around St. Mungo's due to visiting Shelley in the past. Shelley had been a bit busy, as St. Mungo's was considerably understaffed for night shifts, but quickly gave her the potion she required before wishing her luck and telling her not to worry. Shelley had been able to tell Lily had been a frazzled mess thinking about the possibility, but she hadn't had the time other than to smile at her apologetically before leaving her in a private space.

Before she had even taken the potion, Lily had known what it would show. Her mind had been going a mile a minute since Voldemort had made his declaration. It was now days before Christmas, and just about six weeks ago, she and James had been on their anniversary. To say they had not exactly been safe would be an understatement. James had cast the charm late, and then she remembered to recast it much later toward the end of the weekend, but she was sure now it hadn't mattered. This wouldn't be so conclusive by itself except she just now realized her period was actually over a week late, almost two actually. To say her body ran like clockwork was also an understatement.

Lily had closed her eyes, taken the potion, and watched knowingly as her stomach turned blue for a few seconds. She was pregnant. She knew enough from Shelley mentioning it over the past two years that pregnant women were not to apparate so she found herself the first available floo and made her way home. She trusted Professor Dumbledore and Sirius to make sure her husband was ok. She would've gotten Sirius' patronus by now if there had been anything seriously wrong anyway. She merely needed a few minutes to herself…before she had to face James.

She realized then she was breathing a little faster. Tears sprung to her eyes for absolutely no reason. She was so stressed. Was he still mad at her? She had been acting both irrational and emotional since yesterday. At least, she now had an excuse she had been unaware of to blame it on, but she could at least admit it to herself now. And now she was pregnant of all things. Would he be happy? Would he be horrified? Would he be even more upset with her? The two of them hadn't exactly sat down and discussed the idea. When Alice had gotten word she was pregnant, they had mentioned that the idea would be nice…someday. How was she supposed to know 'someday' meant _now_!

She ran up the stairs, planning to hide in their bedroom for a while or the tower room…just for a little bit. She had to find her courage somewhere. She swiped at her eyes a bit, but stopped cold when she heard a familiar voice, "What's wrong, dear? Why are you crying?"

Lily started and turned with her eyes wide towards James' grandmother, Aimee. She really did not want to talk about this with her. It wasn't that she didn't want kids—the exact opposite in fact—but there was no way around not wanting to say she was scared to have kids so young to a woman who had been murdered protecting her many children right in her own home. After Lily opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to think quickly on how to evade Aimee's piercing blue eyes, she head a deeper voice say calmly, "Why don't I talk to Lily for a bit, sweetheart? Would you go and visit Andy, just for a little while?"

Aimee glared at her husband for suggesting such a thing, but as she met his eyes across the hallway, her look softened, before she nodded and disappeared. Lily sniffed, but she bravely met her savior's eyes. "Thank you."

James' grandfather, Harry, chuckled. His face reminded her of who she did really want to talk to, but that just made her more anxious. He answered, "It was no trouble, but I do hope you would share what has made you so upset. You do realize there are few secrets in this house? Whatever it may be is not worth your tears."

Lily studied him, still a bit unsure, before she decided to give it a trial run. She knew her tears were more stress related than anything. Observing Harry, the only difference was the eyes. James looked just like him. Her voice was barely audible, and she knew she probably came across a little panicked, but this was practice, "I'm pregnant."

Harry looked overjoyed. "Now why in the world are you crying and looking so upset over something so wonderful! The women in this house are going to be a nightmare to listen to, you have no idea."

Lily stifled a snort and a smile leaked out of her as she also got a bit excited despite herself. However, she couldn't let go of her worries just yet. "Yes."

She felt Harry's eyes on her then. He evaluated her, and his eyes widened. "You're scared. To be pregnant or of what James might say? Regardless of either reason, I can tell you right now you have nothing to worry about."

He said this so matter-of-factly that she felt her tears lessen. She looked at him confused. "How do you know? We've never discussed this really. And now, a complete accident! I would have wanted to plan and prepare and—"

Harry's laughter cut her off, and she glared at him. He bit his lip trying to hide his smile and raised his hands as a peace offering. She huffed. Like she could hurt a portrait, honestly. She crossed her arms and waited for him to explain him laughing at her fears. Her wand arm twitched. She could silence him for a while…or longer, she supposed. Harry bravely began speaking in an effort to explain, "Lily, you can never exactly _plan_ to have a child. The idea is nice, but when it happens, it happens. And the reason I know James will be overjoyed, despite you thinking he might not be, is because he has always wanted lots of kids."

Lily's eyes widened and she parroted back that last phrase now scared out of her mind, "_Lots of kids_?"

Harry laughed again, his dark brown eyes alight with mischief. "YES. You see, after Judy had James, quite the handful mind you, when she wanted to try again, she discovered she was no longer able to have more children. James was an only child by default. When Lauren came to live here, James was thrilled to have a sibling. And then when Sirius showed up in the foyer a little after their fifth year, he welcomed his brother home into his own room across the hall. You see, James has wanted to be a part of a big family. He has always wanted that. You already know these things, Lily. Do not let your fears guide you. Fear only fear itself. That is Gryffindor's motto, is it not? We cannot have a little boy born into Gryffindor's family without some sort of Gryffindor resolve from his mother."

Lily couldn't help but giggle at Harry's attempt to make her feel better. It was working. She was quietly pleased at the idea too, now that according to Harry, she had nothing to worry about from James' reaction. She raised an eyebrow, "A little boy, huh? A little early to be placing bets on my child, don't you think?"

Harry guffawed. "You mean, you don't know? Surely, you have seen the family tree by now, Lily dear. All firstborn children to the Potter family are male. We all blame Godric, of course, since he was the one to have two girls and no boys, but alas, we do not have him around to ask to be sure."

Lily's eyes widened, and she looked down to her stomach before back up to Harry, her green eyes alight with wonder. "Really?"

Harry merely nodded, and then his expression turned to that knowing smirk she had hated all throughout her Hogwarts career. However, that smirk was something she had unconsciously fell in love with. She wiped away the last of her tears, now thoroughly better, and she definitely owed it all to her husband's grandfather. Potter men were very alike, and she hoped that her son would grow up to be the same…or better. Maybe having a name to aspire to would help with that. And with his name, technically her son would be named after both Harry _and_ James. She eyed the portrait questioningly, "Well, he's going to need a strong and brave name when he arrives…"

Harry's brow puckered, but then he realized Lily was looking at him in gratitude. It took him a moment to understand what she was implying, but when it hit home, he was immediately humbled. "Lily, I'd be honored."

Lily bit her lip to hide what would have been a huge smile. "It would be nice to have another Harry James in the family, wouldn't it?"

Harry laughed again, his expression still reeling in delight. "By all means, let him pave his own way though. With you two as parents, he's going to be stubborn to a fault."

Lily chuckled at that and gave him another thank you before she made her way up to the tower room, knowing James would look for her there. It was just so beautiful and peaceful up there. She wondered if she should do anything fun to tell him about the pregnancy, but then shook her head, frowning. He already had some idea that it was likely. Why did Voldemort have to go and steal her thunder?

She supposed if they _did_ have more kids, she would get her chance to tell him personally in a special way later. She sat down on one of the window seats and waited, her smile growing as she continued to envision what was going to come. While there might be Death Eaters, Voldemort, war, and violence…up here, it was easier to see the wonderful side of things. A family. It would be a lot of work, but she already knew that good things were often worth the wait.

James groaned as he felt himself coming to against his will. Why in the world was he awake when he could be sleeping? He felt like he could sleep for hours just yet. He didn't have a single second to even contemplate the question though because he felt himself gag slightly on some sweet liquid being shoved down his throat…twice. As he forcefully felt his throat swallowing the mixture, he was momentarily brought back to a time he did not wish to relive…ever. He quickly began fighting against the people touching him. He heard a shocked yelp when he banished one person wandlessly to his left, but the other person pushed him to lay back down so he grabbed the arms holding him sending out a few stinging hexes. That person quickly withdrew from him, hissing through their teeth. James sat up and was just about to flee blindly from the room when he saw a blur of dark hair in front of him with a voice he knew extremely well, "Whoa! Whoa! Prongs! Settle down! You're ok. You're alright. You're safe. We're at St. Mungo's."

James let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding and all of the adrenaline that had been rushing through him in his panic seemed to subside and leave him drained again at his best mate's words. He squinted as he looked around, taking in his surroundings a bit more. He noticed two blurry blobs in mint green robes. The one furthest away looked like a woman, and she was leaning against the wall a bit shaken from probably being thrown there. The other, a man, stood closer to him and was rubbing his hands a bit, probably trying to regain some more natural feeling after James had cast his stinging hexes on him. James felt horribly guilty. It wasn't the first time he had panicked upon awakening. However, the other times he had woken up beside Lily. She was all he needed to remain calm and know he was alright and where he should be. He looked down sheepishly before stating loudly enough for the two Healers to hear him, "I'm sorry. It's just…yeah, I'm really, _really_ sorry."

Sirius placed a hand on his shoulder in reassurance, but while the two Healers had nodded and seemed to accept his apology, they were very hesitant around him now that he was awake. The woman had not come closer to him at all. He sat patiently and did not move too much on purpose in response. The man quickly looked him over, but did not notice any lasting injury. He then advised him to pick up a restorative potion prescription from the front desk for the next few days. The only potions that had been administered had been a strengthening solution, a pain potion, and a minor restorative. Restoratives had to be taken in doses, hence the prescription for a few more. The Healers' departure thereafter was rather abrupt and lackluster.

As they left, Sirius handed him his glasses with a chuckle. "Man, you are a piece of work. You scared those two…BADLY. You sure you're ok, mate? I can find someone else, if you want."

James shook his head with a sigh. He wanted to see one person, and that was Lily. "No. I'm fine really. Where are the girls and Lauren? They're all here, right?"

Sirius sighed and his brow furrowed. "They're all fine, as far as I know. Lauren is waiting outside. She…well, she really didn't like looking at you passed out like that. Reminded her of last time is all. Obviously, this was nothing, but still. I saw Christina heading upstairs before I came in here with you, but I didn't see Red with her. Since you're free to go, let's go find out, eh? I get to be Godfather, right?"

James blanched. How in the hell did he let _that_ slip his consciousness? He had completely forgotten that his wife could be pregnant in the last ten minutes during his exam! Now, he _really_ wanted to go find his wife. Sirius balked at him. "Ha! You completely forgot, didn't you? That's rich. Well, maybe Chrissy knows something."

Sirius pulled him up to his feet and maintained a hold on him since he was a little unsteady on his feet yet. As soon as they made their way back out to the waiting room, Lauren was in front of them, quizzing Sirius on his condition. James tried to interject once and speak for himself, but the look he had received from Lauren threatened the reappearance of Scary Lauren so he thought it best to keep quiet.

Instead, his gaze wandered rapidly around the waiting area looking for his wife. There had been more muggles involved at their warehouse debacle than he had expected for this late at night. From the looks of things, the muggles had been the warm-up for the Death Eaters on their way to the warehouse. No wonder it had been quiet at those muggle taverns. A lot of them had burns and were pushing against the Healers trying to help them, freaking out and repeatedly asking everyone where in the world they were. Some general Magical Law Enforcement personnel were trying to keep everyone calm. He could not see the familiar red hair he loved which disappointed him. Where was she? He wanted to know what had happened. He wanted to confirm she was alright and hadn't been hurt. He wanted to know if she was pregnant. He wanted to see her. He wanted to apologize for earlier. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to— "James! Are you even _listening_? It's your _turn_! You just need some potions. Sheesh."

He jumped when Lauren randomly screamed in his ear. Sirius sighed and told him to sit down before he keeled over. He got up and spoke to the front desk in James' stead. She merely handed him some paper before she moved onto the next person. Sirius handed the paper to Lauren, who glared at him. "What is this?"

Sirius shrugged. "She said that you can take that up to the third floor to get the potion filled. I say we just go to Potter Manor instead. You have restoratives there, don't you, Prongs? Or are you fresh out?"

Lauren scowled before marching over to the elevator mumbling something about lazy men. They both watched Lauren enter the elevator, suddenly greeting someone coming off. Sirius jumped up at recognizing the blonde haired beauty. James perked up too…until he noticed she was alone. He began to panic. Where was Lily? Was she not ok? He thought she had been ok? Christina gazed at him after she had greeted Sirius, and quickly tried to soothe him, "Lily is fine, James. I promise. I just…don't know where she went. She snagged Shelley amidst all of the chaos and I never saw her leave the room. I went looking for her, but I couldn't find her. I spotted Shelley, but she stated Lily must've left. I'm sorry, but Shelley didn't tell me what the results were. I'm not even sure if she knew. She was pulled away to help with some of the overflow. I should've been a Healer. They are incredibly short-staffed..."

James' brow furrowed as he wondered where his wife would have gone, but knew that she likely had gone home. He forced his tired body to stand despite it protesting, but Christina and Sirius both pushed him back in his seat. Sirius shook his head at him. "Nuh, uh. We'll go in a few. You want to see Lauren go all psycho again? Just let her get that prescription so you have it for the next few days, and then we'll all go to Potter Manor. I'm sure that's where Red went."

James slunk in his chair, still feeling drowsy, as he waited for Lauren to come back down. He listened as his best mate and his girlfriend sat and argued over the possibility of his unborn child. However, the only voice he wanted to hear speaking about whether or not it was even a possibility was Lily. As he thought more and more about it, he realized that his mind had already given into hope that it was true. It may have been a surprise, but there really was nothing else he wanted more in the world more than a family with Lily. He also doubted Voldemort being wrong about something like that.

The wait was a bit of a blur for him…Lauren's reappearance and the four of them apparating to Potter Manor. However, the moment he found himself in his parlor, he used all of his remaining energy to run upstairs to find his wife. His sudden burst of energy surprised his companions so much that he got a nice head start. When he reached the West Wing second floor, he noticed his grandfather conveniently pointing toward the third floor with a wink. James nodded back with a grin and continued his ascent toward the tower room.

James was practically thundering up the stairs and down the hallway so it was no surprise to him that Lily had stood up to greet him as he made his way sloppily into the tower room. He opened his mouth a few times to ask _the_ question, but nothing came out. Lily smiled at him slightly, her green eyes amused—probably at his lack of eloquence—but then, she nodded. That was all of the confirmation he needed. He felt himself smile widely as he let out a whoop of joy. He immediately scooped his wife up into his arms and swung her around a few times.

Lily was thrilled at his reaction to the news, immensely in fact. His reaction had solidified all of her own thoughts and conclusions over her pregnancy while she had been awaiting his return for the last hour or so. She may have been scared at first, but the more she had thought about it, the more right everything felt. She was becoming more and more excited as time went on. However, the spinning was beginning to induce more nausea so she had to stop him…and quickly. "James…please put me down."

James' happy face turned to alarm when he looked over at her. Her face was surely tinged green. He placed her on her feet and then began asking her numerous questions in quick succession about her well-being and what, if anything, he could do to remedy anything for her. She shushed him, placing her hand over his mouth to stop his incessant chatter. She bit her lip to hide a grin over his overprotective nature. He was going to drive her crazy. She could just tell. "I'm fine. I promise. Just very, very nauseous when there is spinning involved."

James grabbed her hand covering his mouth and kissed it repeatedly, his hazel eyes sparkling. "I am so happy right now."

Lily wrapped her arms around him, his enthusiasm catching her too. "Me too."

James was just about to lean in and show her just how happy he was when he heard Sirius groan behind him. It seemed his companions had finally joined them. "Oi! None of that! Sheesh, wait til later or something, kids. So, Red, I get to be Godfather, right? Prongs wouldn't say yes or no until he heard from you, but you love me, right? That kid will be my protégé! Just think of all the things I can teach him!"

James, who had his back turned to his best mate, rolled his eyes as he gazed down at his wife. He did not relinquish his hold on her as he still was waiting for his kiss. He did want Lily to be involved in such a decision though, and he supposed a part of him had assumed Sirius being Godfather was a given. However, the glare his wife was sending Sirius suddenly made him uncertain.

Lily was annoyed at Sirius for the interruption, but then she looked back up at her husband. His face was hopeful she would agree and almost skeptical that she would to begin with, which she thought was silly. She had already known Sirius would claim Godfather to her firstborn when she and James had begun dating. She would let Sirius have his moment now, but there would be definite ground rules when her son finally made his appearance. She sighed before reluctantly turning her attention back to Sirius. "Does this mean I no longer have to give you a Christmas present this year, Black?"

Sirius whooped and started a happy dance, causing them all to laugh. Christina and Lauren eyed each other with raised eyebrows before turning to Lily with the same question in their eyes. Lily rolled her eyes. "You two can duke out who gets to be Godmother and who gets to be favorite Aunt. Keep in mind if you want the Godmother job, you'll have to share with Sirius."

As the girls immediately began to argue pros and cons of being one or the other while Sirius laughed at the both of them, Lily turned back to James whom she found to be still staring at her. She smirked. Some things never changed. He shot her his devilish grin in return before whispering into her ear cheekily, "So can I have my kiss now?"

Just as Lily was beginning to laugh, the sound was muffled by James' lips. She closed her eyes as he tightened his hold around her waist, indicating he wasn't about to stop until he was told to. She was especially happy when, after more than a few seconds, Sirius was distracted enough not to interrupt for once.


End file.
